<!DOCTYPE html>
<html>
<head>
<meta charset="UTF-8">
<title>Ordinary Miracles by midnightelephant_21</title>
<style type="text/css">

body { background-color: #ffffff; }
.CI {
text-align:center;
margin-top:0px;
margin-bottom:0px;
padding:0px;
}
.center   {text-align: center;}
.cover    {text-align: center;}
.full     {width: 100%; }
.quarter  {width: 25%; }
.smcap    {font-variant: small-caps;}
.u        {text-decoration: underline;}
.bold     {font-weight: bold;}
</style>
</head>
<body>
<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/22694428">Ordinary Miracles</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/midnightelephant_21/pseuds/midnightelephant_21'>midnightelephant_21</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>ATEEZ (Band), K-pop</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Alternate Universe - Superheroes/Superpowers, Angst with a Happy Ending, Captain Kim Hongjoong, Heavy Angst, M/M, Secret Intelligence Service | MI6, Villain Jung Wooyoung, it's basically ateez sane line vs. crackhead line, plot heavy, stan ateez for clear skin</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>In-Progress</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-02-13</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-05-16</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-04-28 10:40:14</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Graphic Depictions Of Violence</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>9</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>57,007</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/22694428</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/midnightelephant_21/pseuds/midnightelephant_21</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>“You’re looking for Wooyoung, aren’t you?” The man asked. Hongjoong nodded, his heart almost leaping for joy at the possibility of making progress on this mission.</p><p>Then the man pointed at the place where Yeosang was sitting, gesturing at another ash-purple-haired man who was now seated across Yeosang. Hongjoong watched as a tall bartender arrived with two drinks for the two men, and the purple-haired man thanked him graciously.</p><p>“That’s your guy. Oh, and by the way, your friend is about to be poisoned.”</p><p>----<br/>Superheroes Yeosang and Hongjoong wanted to be Good. They wanted to bring justice to the world and protect the innocent. But when they are faced with the most dangerous threat they've ever encountered, they're suddenly not so sure anymore.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Jung Wooyoung/Kang Yeosang, Kim Hongjoong/Park Seonghwa</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>38</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>125</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>1. Ice and Fire</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>okay so i deleted the original skz/gidle version of this and reworked it into an ateez one because i realised that i didn't want to do a cross-group fic</p><p>this is pretty heavily marvel-influenced so if you notice similarities, yes that was intentional and yay you're a marvel stan!<br/>seonghwa isn't in this chapter but he will make an appearance soon.</p><p>hope you enjoy!</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>“When Zico and Block B died two years ago protecting the Earth from <em> emmonos, </em>this threw the governments of the world in for a loop.” Professor Yoo explained as she gestured towards the picture of Block B displayed on the screen. “Superheroes used to be considered a childish, naïve concept. But Block B proved them wrong. This is no longer a question of a child. This is a matter of national security. The governments trusted Block B to protect the Earth. The question now is, who’s next?”</p><p>Yeosang scrunched up his nose in confusion. Why was Professor Yoo talking about superheroes right now? Wasn’t she a professor of nuclear physics?</p><p>Frankly speaking, Yeosang hadn’t been paying attention throughout the lesson. He was essentially a genius, having graduated high school one year early and starting university at seventeen. He excelled in all his classes. He was usually smart enough to be able to figure out what the topic was just by listening to Professor Yoo speak a few words, but unfortunately it looked like he had run out of luck today.</p><p>“Hongjoong. Hongjoong. Hongjoooong.” Yeosang reached over the space between the two tables and nudged his best friend’s foot. </p><p>Hongjoong sighed as he turned to the irritating younger boy. “Yes?” He asked patiently. Yeosang tilted his head in Professor Yoo’s direction. “What is she talking about? I -”</p><p>“- wasn’t listening, yeah, I noticed,” Hongjoong grumbled, rolling his eyes. “Seriously, you need to start paying attention in class.” Sneaking a glance at Professor Yoo to make sure she wasn’t watching them, Hongjoong picked up a few papers on his desk and discreetly handed them to Yeosang. “She’s talking about fusion energy and Zico’s creation of the first successful and effective nuclear fusion reactor.”</p><p>“Ah.” Yeosang nodded, familiar with the topic. Everyone had heard of the legendary Woo Jiho, more commonly known by the acronym Zico. He had started off as the CEO and founder of the biggest tech conglomerate in the world, ZICO TECHNOLOGIES. One day, however, a nuclear accident had destroyed his hometown in Korea while he was visiting, killing everything within a 500-kilometre range. His entire family died of radioactive-exposure illness and the doctors had all told Zico that he did not have long to live. However, instead of dying, Zico became enhanced. The radioactivity had taken a reverse turn, giving him supernatural abilities and enhanced strength. Suddenly, Zico could blast buildings apart with a flick of his fingers, electrocute anyone just by pointing at them, and create electromagnetic shields just by stretching his hands. </p><p>Zico had returned to America and continued to develop ZICO TECHNOLOGIES. His abilities allowed him to push the boundaries of nuclear physics, and within a year he had developed a sustainable and efficient fusion energy reactor. His discovery revolutionised the energy industry. He distributed the reactors all over the world for low prices, essentially eliminating the demand for fossil fuels and nuclear fission energy. The year after that, he received the Nobel Prize for Physics at an incredibly young age of twenty-eight.</p><p>But Zico’s creation of fusion reactors wasn’t what he was remembered most for. Rather, the powers he had received had turned him into Earth’s very own superhero. Joining forces with P.O., Taeil and Park Kyung (three exceptionally skilled spy agents), U-Kwon, Jaehyo and B-Bomb (genetically enhanced soldiers), they formed a formidable team of superheroes, calling themselves ‘Block B’. </p><p>Block B had saved the world several times over the course of the past four years. Their deeds ranged from low-scale feats such as taking down the Russian Mafia to huge-level achievements like preventing a tech supervillain from acquiring a weapon that could wipe out cities in seconds. Their biggest win was defeating the <em> emmonos, </em>a race of dark aliens who tried to invade the Earth and transform all humans into their race. However, Block B died to destroy the emmonos, effectively wiping out the entire race. The Earth was saved, but Block B was gone.</p><p>Block B were legendary. Everywhere Yeosang went, he kept seeing pictures of Block B, he kept hearing people talk about them. It wasn’t that he hated Block B, but Yeosang got really sick of hearing about them all the time. They were dead, weren’t they? They had been dead for almost two years. It was about time the world moved on.</p><p>Of course, there was still the question of who would inherit ZICO TECHNOLOGIES. Zico died with no children and without naming a successor, so his company was left heirless. Currently, the company’s headquarters had been locked down by the NYPD, and access was completely blocked until a new CEO had been decided. The designs for Zico’s nuclear fusion reactors had been taken by the government and the business for fusion energy became less of a monopoly. The government ensured that the reactors being produced were effective and efficient, but other than that, fusion energy was anyone’s game. </p><p>And it was all thanks to the world’s greatest superhero, Woo Jiho.</p><p>Okay, Yeosang didn’t hate Woo Jiho. Not really, at least. It wasn’t Zico’s fault. It wasn’t Block B’s fault. But the fact that people kept glorifying them as the world’s eternal protectors made Yeosang’s blood boil.</p><p>“Yeosang, is something wrong?” Hongjoong, who was sitting behind Yeosang, tapped his best friend on the shoulder with a worried look on his face. Yeosang saw him a little too late.</p><p>“Fuck!” Hongjoong cursed loudly as he immediately retracted his hand, shaking it as he tended to the bits of frostbite growing on his fingers</p><p><em> Shit. </em>Yeosang’s eyes widened when he realised what had happened. Damn his abilities and his emotions. He could control them to some extent, sure, but when he got riled up it was hopeless.</p><p>“Kim Hongjoong, I must insist that you refrain from using such language in my class!” Professor Yoo walked over to their side of the classroom and rapped her fingers sharply against Hongjoong ’s desk. “If you have any disagreements with something or someone, please handle that <em> outside </em>my classroom.”</p><p>Hongjoong flushed, though he was still gripping his hand in pain. “Sorry, Professor,” He mumbled, and his face looked so adorably apologetic that Professor Yoo had no choice but to let it slide. As soon as Professor Yoo was out of earshot, Yeosang felt a sharp pain in his head and he scowled lowly, turning around to glare at Hongjoong.</p><p>“I’m sorry, okay? I wasn’t focusing,” Yeosang muttered under his breath. Hongjoong rolled his eyes as silver sparkles danced around between his fingertips. “Serves you right.”</p><p>Yeosang mentally slapped himself for being so distracted. His abilities were in no way a gift to him. Rather, they posed as a danger to anyone around him. Even if Hongjoong knew about his abilities (after all, Hongjoong was a psychokinetic himself), he was still in danger of being harmed by Yeosang.</p><p>Yeosang had been born with the ability to control water and ice. Where he had gotten it from, nobody knew. All he knew was that he could create water, move and shape water, freeze anything in his sight. As a baby, he hadn’t had enough strength to cause any severe damage, but there were the occasional times when a little snowflakes flew out of his fingertips, and so and so forth. As he got older however, his powers got worse.</p><p>
  <em> The first time Yeosang’s powers had gotten the better of him were during second grade. Some cruel kid had been pushing him around, beating him up, laughing at him for his scrawny figure and introverted attitude. Yeosang had given into the bullying, not even bothering to stand up for himself anymore. He had gotten so used to it, so what was the point? </em>
</p><p>
  <em> Then the bully had knocked Yeosang’s friend, right across the jaw. And Yeosang had seen red. </em>
</p><p>
  <em> Suddenly, the whole room was covered head to toe in sharp icicles and frost, which quickly spread across the floor, then across the whole building. Yeosang had been terrified, begging, praying, screaming for the freezing to stop, but he had no control over his abilities. The ice crushed everything in its path. Yeosang could only watch helplessly as his friend reached out for him before he was turned into a statue of ice. </em>
</p><p>
  <em> The school didn’t even suspect him. After all, how could you blame an eight-year-old kid who walked out of the scene crying with his best friend’s frozen body in his arms? </em>
</p><p>
  <em> It didn’t matter if the school didn’t blame him. Yeosang blamed himself. That was enough. </em>
</p><p>Yeosang clenched his fists at the memory, taking deep breaths to calm himself down. He forced himself to think of other things, to get his mind off worse memories that haunted his nightmares.</p><p>Thankfully, that distraction came in the form of a text pinging on Yeosang’s phone. </p><p>
  <em> You and Kim. Meet at HQ. 20 min max. Don’t make me wait. </em>
</p><p>
  <em>- E</em>
</p><p>Yeosang groaned. After several of his ice-fiascos, he had been approached by Eden, a tall man who claimed to be running what he called the SEVEN SEASONS Agency, a secret underground organisation that monitored global threats and recruited spies and intelligence agents to help keep peace and prevent violence. He had been called there as a potential threat, but after Eden had convinced him to work for them, he was now a SEVEN SEASONS agent. The agents there had helped Yeosang control his powers better, although he was still a bit rusty. He had worked together with Hongjoong to hone their enhanced skills - Hongjoong improved his telepathic and telekinetic abilities while Yeosang improved his hydrokinetic ones. In return, Yeosang and Hongjoong agreed to fight some of SEVEN SEASONS’s bigger battles, and they had both become what the world liked to call ‘superheroes’. They fought crime. They wore secretive suits. They hid in plain sight. Often, this required them to leave school abruptly in the middle of nowhere. No one knew about this nor his powers yet, and Yeosang planned to keep it that way.</p><p>SEVEN SEASONS had created an alias for him, by the name of ‘Kang’. Of course, it was Yeosang’s last name, but there were thousands of Kang’s in the city. It would be impossible to narrow it down to him. Hongjoong had it even better - ‘Kim’ was the most common surname in the city, so he had his identity hidden perfectly.</p><p>Kang and Kim were new fledgling superheroes that the world admired. They would never be like Block B, not even half as popular or trusted, but that didn’t hurt Yeosang. Rather, it reassured him. He was glad that he’d never end up like them.</p><p>Hiding his identity was a bit of an issue, however. Yeosang had to figure out some new shit in order to get him bailed out of class.</p><p>“We have to go,” Yeosang murmured under his breath to Hongjoong. Immediately, the older perked up attentively, nodding as he raised his hand, silver sparkles swirling around it.</p><p>Professor Yoo seemed to stop in the middle of her lecture, her eyes glazing out of focus ever so slightly. Anyone else would think she had just remembered something important. Yeosang and Hongjoong knew better.</p><p>“Ah, Yeosang, Hongjoong, don’t you two need to leave right now? You told me you had an important meeting with the Head of the department to go to. Go on!” Professor Yoo said kindly. </p><p>“Thank you, Professor.” Yeosang stood up and grabbed his bags, he and Hongjoong quickly exiting the classroom before any of their classmates could get suspicious. As soon as they were outside the building, they made a dash for the parking lot, running as fast as they could so they wouldn’t be late. </p><p>A sleek black car was waiting for Yeosang and Hongjoong in the parking lot. The car window rolled down to reveal Maddox, Eden’s second in command, sitting at the driver’s seat.</p><p>“Hey, Kang, Kim,” Maddox said cheerfully. “Get in. Commander’s got something big for us.”</p><p>-----</p><p>Jung Wooyoung approached the eight-inch thick steel door, quickly typing in the hexadecimal passcode, then cutting his finger and letting blood spill upon the DNA sensor in order to allow him in. One might argue that his security measures were overkill, but considering that Wooyoung was no ordinary college student, it was quite fitting.</p><p>As soon as Wooyoung’s password and DNA were cleared, a metal arm poked out from the wall and held a knife to Wooyoung’s throat. “Password?” A voice hissed in a robotic tone.</p><p>“<em> Mars </em>,” Wooyoung whispered, his voice tainted with hatred. He loathed that name, but it was the only password Wooyoung knew no one who didn’t know him well would ever be able to guess. The robotic arm quickly retracted, and the robotic voice hissed: “Welcome, Wooyoung.” </p><p>Then the door opened and the loud sounds of electronic music and screaming party-goers filled his ears, causing Wooyoung to wince as he stepped inside.</p><p>The bar was meant to be ‘private’, but there were many people who knew about it. It was one of the few bars where the police had yet to regulate, mainly because of the security measures around it. And yet, the passwords and security checks were not over for Wooyoung.</p><p>He walked quickly over to a booth in the far back, sliding into the velvet seats with ease. Making sure no one was watching him, Wooyoung dragged his sharp nail across the table in a special pattern - to anyone else, it would seem as if he were merely tapping his fingers impatiently. </p><p>A click sounded and a curtain of reflective panels appeared around the booth, disguising it. Then, a shaft opened and the entire booth was dragged down into the floor, pulling Wooyoung along with it.</p><p>After a few seconds, the booth reached a dimly-lit basement, with a few black leather couches and plain black tables scattered around the room. To the right, there was a big bulletin board with several faces, newspaper articles and other bits of information pinned onto it. In the centre of the room, a miniature holographic image of New York City had been set up, with moving figures representing every movement that every person in the city made. On the walls around them, weapons of a thousand shapes and sizes hung there, their sharp metal glinting despite the dark light.</p><p>“Hey, you’re back!” Wooyoung’s friend (and partner-in-crime) San was lying calmly across a sofa, a laid-back grin on his face. “How was class?”</p><p>Wooyoung made a face, rolling his eyes as he dumped his bag on a table beside them. A knife skittered out of it, and San raised an eyebrow judgingly.</p><p>“Don’t ask,” Wooyoung replied smoothly, but San was already at his side, observing the knife (and the blood stains on it). He squinted at it for a few seconds before handing it back to the elder boy.</p><p>“Looks like whoever you fought put up quite a fight. An offensive on our side, I assume?” San asked suspiciously. “You didn’t tell me we had a new target.”</p><p>“We didn’t,” Wooyoung used his jacket sleeve to clean the blood off the blade. “It wasn’t a target.”</p><p>San frowned, his eyes widening in concern. “Is it him?”</p><p>“Don’t be ridiculous, San,” Wooyoung laughed in disbelief. “He’s infinitely more capable than me. And you’ve seen the footage. Though I dream of the day when I can run my knife through his heart and spit on his murderous blood, it has yet to come.”</p><p>“Is Wooyoung being dramatic again?” Another voice called out from the hallway and Mingi, the third member of their little group and also their top technician, walked out from it. “Don’t tell me you’ve been ranting about flooding the streets with your brother’s blood again. I don’t want to hear it.”</p><p>San visibly lit up when Mingi entered the room, and he quickly walked over to the younger boy, letting Mingi drape his arms around him and press a soft kiss into his hair. Wooyoung scrunched his nose at their domestic displays of affection. They had been dating for almost a year now, but Wooyoung still found it uncomfortable to watch them. </p><p>He wasn’t sure if it was something wrong with him, or just the fact that watching your best friends make out on your couch was pretty horrific in general.</p><p>“Didn’t I tell you two to tone it down with the PDA?” Wooyoung muttered grimly, although he knew it was of no use. He had asked them to tone it down countless times before. They had ignored him just the same.</p><p>“Where’s Yunho?” Wooyoung asked calmly. Yunho was the last member of their little group. Unlike San, who was a top-of-the-line spy and Wooyoung’s second-in-command, and Mingi, who could probably hack into the Pentagon’s firewall within a day, Yunho didn’t specialise in any field, but he was good to have during missions. Besides, he made really good life decisions, some of which had saved the four of them from being caught by the police, or worse, SEVEN SEASONS.</p><p>The four of them were one faction of <em> Journey, </em> an underground operation that was involved in espionage, intelligence and assasination. Their faction was called <em> ATZ’99, </em> but there were other factions as well - <em> NCT DREAM </em> and <em> TXT, </em> both male factions, and <em> Everglow </em> and <em> IZ*ONE, </em>female factions. They worked outside of the law, and the factions all had different goals and priorities. Some factions’ members were just there to do their job and earn money. Some factions’ members were already criminals, and worked there for protection from the law. And some factions’ members, such as Wooyoung, were determined to see the downfall of powerful organisations such as SEVEN SEASONS - or even the downfall of governments.</p><p>It was members such as Wooyoung that were the most dangerous. And it didn’t help that Wooyoung had pyrokinesis. That made him both willing and capable of unspeakable amounts of destruction.</p><p>“Yunho is in the study hall. See, unlike us, his studies take priority over the destruction of SEVEN SEASONS,” Mingi replied quickly, his tone rather accusatory.</p><p>Wooyoung walked over to the miniature holographic 3-D map of New York that Mingi had set up in the centre of the room. He ran his finger over the large building that had <em> ZICO TECHNOLOGIES </em>written across it.</p><p>“SEVEN SEASONS knows,” Wooyoung said in a drawled voice. “They know about us.”</p><p>San and Mingi froze, San detaching himself away from Mingi to stand next to Wooyoung. “Are you certain?”</p><p>Wooyoung sighed. “Yes, I’m certain. That’s who I was dealing with today. Some low-class agents who were trying to spy on us. I caught them easily, don’t worry.”</p><p>Mingi frowned. “How much do they know?”</p><p>“Not much. Thankfully, not enough.” Wooyoung jabbed a finger at the image, and quickly, a search engine popped up, allowing him to type in a few keywords to access the files he needed. He quickly found the file labelled ‘KANG’, tapping it and opening it to reveal its details.</p><p>“This is Kang, as you are all aware of. A new superhero for the world to devour.” Wooyoung’s eyes scanned over the file. In the image, a guy in a black-and-dark blue suit and a dark blue mask stood on a street, fighting off a gang with sharp blasts of ice flying from his hands. His hair was covered by the hood of his suit, and only his big brown eyes were visible through all his protective clothing. </p><p>“God, he looks like a walking blueberry,” Wooyoung muttered as he looked at the image. “Superhero suits have gotten so ugly lately. So unflattering.”</p><p>“Is the first thing you noticed about Kang his <em> fashion sense </em>?” San asked skeptically. Wooyoung merely shrugged in return. “Just because you’re a hero, doesn’t exempt you from dressing decently. Or fashionably, for that matter.”</p><p>San rolled his eyes. “Whatever. Is SEVEN SEASONS going to put him on our trail?”</p><p>Wooyoung pursed his lips. “That is the most likely outcome. Nevertheless, we’ll keep him off our scent.”</p><p>“What does Yeonjun have to say about this?” San asked cautiously. Choi Yeonjun was an informant from <em> TXT </em>that the group trusted - he was pretty young, but he was an espionage ace and knew almost everything about every underground operation that occurred in the city.</p><p>Wooyoung gestured lazily to his phone. “I called Yeonjun earlier and told him to come here. He’s on his way, so you’ll find out soon.”</p><p>As if on cue, the doorbell rang and a voice from the other side called out: “Guys? It’s me.”</p><p>Mingi immediately rushed over to the door, pulling it open ever so slightly so he could speak to the visitor. “Password?” Mingi muttered under his breath, and Yeonjun whispered the password back softly. Then Mingi smiled and allowed the younger boy in, making sure to disable the knife-swinging arm as they walked in.</p><p>“Hey, Wooyoung,” Yeonjun said cheerfully as he collapsed onto the couch. “How’s it going?”</p><p>“Not well,” Wooyoung muttered as he sat down just as casually. “Talk.”</p><p>“Jeez, you’re not in a good mood,” Yeonjun raised an eyebrow, but he spoke anyway. “SEVEN SEASONS knows that you are enhanced. They’ve been tracking enhanced for a while now. That’s how they discovered Kang and Kim. Rumour has it that SEVEN SEASONS’s got more - at least one or two more, but no one’s sure about who they are. Some people think Kim Hongjoong might be ‘Kim’.”</p><p>San frowned at that. “I know that name. I’ve met him before, during an exchange field trip between our university and KQ.”</p><p>“Why do they suspect Hongjoong?” Wooyoung asked sharply. Yeonjun sighed, before he reached over to the screen and pressed a few buttons. A file appeared, labelled ‘Kim Hongjoong’, and he quickly scrolled through it.</p><p>“There have been… incidents,” Yeonjun said carefully. “There’s security footage from Hongjoong’s old schools that I’ve seen. It’s difficult to tell, because he’s a manipulator.”</p><p>Wooyoung tensed. “What do you mean, a manipulator?”</p><p>Yeonjun rolled his eyes. “Duh, Hongjoong has psychokinesis. Those are most likely his attributes. Here, look.” The informant opened a video of a rather short but well-built boy flicking his fingers towards someone. That someone seemed to wince in pain, grabbing their head in agony. Then Hongjoong closed his fist, and the victim stopped wincing.</p><p>Another video showed a younger boy being mocked by a couple of large kids in the playground. Hongjoong walked up to them and waved his hands quickly, like he was casting a spell. The bullies’ eyes seemed to glaze over, then they walked away, leaving Hongjoong to comfort the younger boy.</p><p>Wooyoung’s eyes widened. “That’s some high-level enhancement he’s got.”</p><p>“Yeah, which is why I’ve also got a suspicion as to who Kang might be.” Yeonjun grinned as he typed a few more things into the screen. A few seconds later, a picture of a boy with chestnut brown hair, big brown eyes and a sharp jawline appeared on the screen.</p><p>“This is Kang Yeosang. He’s a close friend of Hongjoong’s. Since we’re pretty sure Hongjoong is ‘Kim’, Yeosang might be the ‘Kang’ that we’re looking for. SEVEN SEASONS’s infamous for trying to group their superheroes together in one city,” Yeonjun explained. Wooyoung watched the picture carefully, observing the boy.</p><p>Yeosang didn’t look much older than nineteen. With a dull face on, it was impossible to tell his personality. Wooyoung could certainly see the boy being cold, emotionless and heartless, but he could also see the fire in his eyes that hid a world of hatred. Was this the same Kang? It was impossible to tell.</p><p>“Oh, and…” Yeonjun lowered his voice, as if he was letting the others in on a secret. “No one else knows this, but since y’all are friends, I’ll tell you. It’s something I figured out on my own.”</p><p>“Shoot,” Wooyoung demanded.</p><p>“Well, around ten or eleven years ago, this school in Busan became completely covered in ice. Like, everyone became an icicle. Frost all over the place No one knew how it started, and all security footage had been lost in the accident. No one survived except this one kid, Kang Yeosang,” Yeonjun said quietly. “Nobody thought he had caused it, but I highly suspect that Yeosang was the one who started the freeze. He came out almost unscathed. People say there was blood on him, but I’ve seen the footage from outside the school. That blood wasn’t his blood.”</p><p>Wooyoung took a deep breath. “If you’re right, Yeonjun,” He began slowly, “Then this could confirm that Yeosang is SEVEN SEASONS’s ‘Kang’. Is that all?”</p><p>“Wait, there’s more, related to you guys,” Yeonjun protested. “SEVEN SEASONS knows you’re enhanced, like I said. They think you’re a threat - anyone who supposedly isn’t under their supervision is a threat. They’re going to try to find you - they’ll probably send Kang and Kim after you. My sources tell me they’ve been trying to recruit you, but you’ve been ignoring them.”</p><p>Wooyoung laughed, patting his phone fondly. “Yes, I’ve ignored the majority of their calls and messages. I only answer them to tell them to fuck off.”</p><p>Yeonjun grinned. “Well, that’s swell for you. But SEVEN SEASONS has marked you as a security threat because of that. The good thing is, SEVEN SEASONS doesn’t know what you’ve been planning.” He tapped the hologram, which changed to show SEVEN SEASONS headquarters in Washington D.C. up in flames that Wooyoung’s powers had conjured up. Then, of course, there was Eden, the leader of SEVEN SEASONS, and Wooyoung’s brother lying on the ground dead at Wooyoung’s feet.</p><p>“I don’t care if we overthrow SEVEN SEASONS and wreak havoc on Washington, frankly,” Wooyoung said angrily. “I just want Eden and my brother <em> dead </em>. So as long as SEVEN SEASONS doesn’t know about those intentions, we’re safe.”</p><p>“You’re safe, maybe,” Yeonjun commented snidely. “It doesn’t change the fact that you’re planning to overthrow SEVEN SEASONS. If SEVEN SEASONS finds out what we’ve been doing, we’re all dead.”</p><p>“Relax, Yeonjun. SEVEN SEASONS won’t find out anything.” Wooyoung toyed with the bloody knife he’d used to eliminate some SEVEN SEASONS officers that had been stalking him. “If that’s all, then we’ll bade you goodbye.”</p><p>Yeonjun smiled, standing up from the couch with an air of satisfaction. “Alright then. See you around, guys. Remember, <em> TXT </em>’s door is always open if you need it.”</p><p>“Thank you, Yeonjun,” Wooyoung said graciously, figuring that he might as well be nice to their main informant. Yeonjun smirked triumphantly, then left the room, slamming the door behind him.</p><p>San sighed worriedly as he tapped his fingers against the table. “Well, that was comforting.”</p><p>“What do we do?” Mingi asked. Wooyoung laced his fingers together, placing his chin on his interlocked hands as he thought. After a moment, he came to a decision.</p><p>“I don’t want to wait for SEVEN SEASONS to make the first move. We should act on the information that we have. I say we find Kang Yeosang and Kim Hongjoong. Attack them first,” Wooyoung suggested.</p><p>“Are you sure?” San looked skeptical. “If we do that, SEVEN SEASONS will have every right to hunt us down like wolves.”</p><p>“Attacked or not, they will hunt us,” Wooyoung replied calmly. “And I don’t want to be caught off-guard. We should move fast, one-up them before they even get the chance to narrow down on us.”</p><p>Mingi folded his arms over his chest. “Do we trust Yeonjun enough on this? What if Yeosang and Hongjoong aren’t enhanced?”</p><p>“Then whoever <em> is </em>enhanced will come to us,” Wooyoung explained. “We strike first, they’ll be drawn there. Then we figure things out from there.”</p><p>For a few seconds, San and Mingi looked at each other doubtfully, but they eventually caved. “Alright,” San said. “We’ll attack Yeosang and Hongjoong first. Mingi, find where they’re going to be tomorrow afternoon.”</p><p>“On it.” Mingi quickly left to the tech room, ready to track down the two suspected enhanced. Wooyoung then turned to San. “Time to train. We have to beat their asses, take hostages if we can, leave no leads to us. Tomorrow, everything has to go perfectly.”</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0002"><h2>2. The First Encounter</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Yeosang and Hongjoong investigate the lead that they have on Jung Wooyoung. Wooyoung decides to play some games.</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>sorry for updating kind of late! thank you to everyone who read it, left kudos or comments! they make my day :)</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Hongjoong and Yeosang stepped into the headquarters for SEVEN SEASONS’, the scanners quickly taking their retinal scan, DNA tests and fingerprints before they confirmed their entry. He smiled as he took in the familiar atmosphere of the agency. </p><p>The main hall of SEVEN SEASONS’ headquarters was bustling with people. Scientists in lab coats were walking towards the laboratory wing, one of them holding a bottle filled with bright pink liquid. Agents in black combat suits were quickly making their way to the hangar bay for a mission. Accountants, secretaries and informants came from here and there, dressed in formal blazers, holding mountains of documents in their hands.</p><p>“I gather that there’s a new mission?” Hongjoong asked as he, Yeosang and Maddox walked over to the elevators. Maddox nodded.</p><p>“Why take us out of school? Couldn’t you wait until the afternoon?”</p><p>The second-in-command shook his head vehemently. “This new mission is like nothing we’ve ever seen before. You’ve dealt with weapons traders, master assassins, and high-level gang members before, but these guys are different,” Maddox said grimly.</p><p>Yeosang raised an eyebrow. “As in… they’re like us?”</p><p>“You’ll see.” The three entered the lift and Maddox quickly pressed the button to lead them to the top floor. A robotic voice rang out in the elevator. </p><p>“Password?”</p><p>Clearing his throat, Maddox announced: “Kim Kyung Moon.”</p><p>There was a pause, then the robotic voice spoke up once again. “Cleared. Welcome, Maddox, Kang, and Kim.”</p><p>Hongjoong could already feel the adrenaline rising in his veins. He’d always found it incredible to watch the operations that went on in SEVEN SEASONS, and he was always thrilled when he and Yeosang received a new mission. It was like living in a movie, with all those top-of-the-line weapons and high-tech security measures and espionage jargon. Being at SEVEN SEASONS headquarters made him <em> feel </em>like a superhero, more than ever, and Hongjoong loved it.</p><p>Eden had always told them that the one thing every superhero needed was passion. Superheroes needed to have a passion for what they did - they had to feel an incredibly strong desire to protect the world, to protect the innocent, to protect others. They had to care so much for others that they’d sacrifice themselves to do it, without hesitation. And lastly, they had to <em> want </em>to be a hero. Call it naïve if you wish, but superheroes had to have that childhood dream to be extraordinary. Without it, you were just like any other SEVEN SEASONS agent.</p><p>Hongjoong remembered the first time he’d ever heard of superheroes. He hadn’t heard about it in storybooks or comics or fairy tales that his parents had told him about. No, his first experience with superheroes was much more meaningful than that.</p><p>
  <em> Hongjoong was ten years old. He was lying face-up on his bed, staring at the adhesive glowing stars on his ceiling while toying with the gold rings hanging around his neck.  </em>
</p><p>
  <em> It was a quite simple piece of jewellery, that necklace. Two simple gold bands had been strung onto a thick piece of brown suede string, and a tight double knot had been tied to keep it secure around Hongjoong’s neck. He had created the necklace on his own, about six years ago - he’d been sneaking around his parents’ room and found the two gold bands. One had his mother’s name on it, the other had his father’s. For all their simplicity, Hongjoong had found them beautiful, and had threaded them onto the string. </em>
</p><p>
  <em> Of course, his parents had thrown a fit when they found out that he had threaded their wedding rings into a necklace. They brought out scissors to cut it off, but Hongjoong (being the adorable four year old that he was) had begun bawling, begging them not to take it off. Eventually, his parents relented (mainly because they couldn’t get the scissors close enough to Hongjoong without him squirming and wriggling about). </em>
</p><p>
  <em> Six years later, Hongjoong still refused to take it off. </em>
</p><p>
  <em> As Hongjoong toyed with it, he heard shouting outside the window. For a second, he was startled, but he figured that it couldn’t have been anything too bad. It was probably their neighbour yelling at his kid, like he usually did. </em>
</p><p>
  <em> A few more minutes passed, then Hongjoong smelled smoke. </em>
</p><p>
  <em> He barely had time to sit up straight before an explosion rocked their apartment, sending smoke, dust and debris everywhere. </em>
</p><p>
  <em> Hongjoong remembered diving under his bed, closing his eyes and rolling into a ball in fear. He remembered hiding there as the walls around his house began to cave in, and pieces of rock fell onto the ground in front of him. He remembered thinking, “I’m going to die here.” He remembered clutching onto the gold rings as tight as ever, screaming in fear. </em>
</p><p>
  <em> Then someone opened the door. </em>
</p><p>
  <em> From where Hongjoong was hiding, he could only see the person’s golden boots and black pants. But then the person ducked down to look under the bed and his whole face came into view. </em>
</p><p>
  <em> It was a man, with black hair and a sharp gaze. He wore a gold-and-black suit, and his smile was warm and welcoming. </em>
</p><p>
  <em> “Hey, what are you doing here?” The man offered Hongjoong his hand, and Hongjoong hesitated. </em>
</p><p>
  <em> “Look, kid,” The man spoke softly and kindly. “The foundations of this house are going to fail within seconds and crush us both. You have to come with me.” </em>
</p><p>
  <em> Finally, Hongjoong agreed, and he took the man’s hand. The man then lifted Hongjoong onto his shoulders and raced out of the house, using electricity from his fingertips to vaporise any falling debris that came at them. </em>
</p><p>
  <em> The man stopped outside the house, setting Hongjoong down onto the street outside. Hongjoong remembered staring in horror as the house caved in on itself, turning into a dust-covered gray heap of rubble. </em>
</p><p>
  <em> “You saved my life,” Hongjoong said to the man. “Thank you.” </em>
</p><p>
  <em> The man smiled warmly. “You’re welcome, kid,” He replied. “I’m Zico, by the way. What’s your name?” </em>
</p><p>
  <em> “Kim Hongjoong.” </em>
</p><p>
  <em> “Well then, Hongjoong,” Zico shook the young boy’s hand. “It’s a pleasure to meet you.” </em>
</p><p>
  <em> Hongjoong smiled for a second, happy that he’d made a new friend, but then his face fell when he felt the gold rings pressing against his chest. He turned back to the house, eyes wide and scared. </em>
</p><p>
  <em> “Where… where are my mom and dad?” He asked, his voice trembling. “Where are they?” </em>
</p><p>
  <em> Zico looked crestfallen, and he lowered his head before speaking in a slow, sad voice. “I’m so sorry, kid,” He whispered. “By the time I made it here, they’d already been crushed by debris. You were lucky that you hid under that bed fast enough.” </em>
</p><p>
  <em> Hongjoong remembered the world stopping. He remembered falling onto his knees, the gravel and dust scraping them, but he did not feel the pain. He remembered crying out in despair, hot tears rolling down his cheeks in waterfalls, his head falling into his hands. </em>
</p><p>
  <em> He remembered Zico kneeling down beside him, running his hand through Hongjoong’s hair in a comforting action. “Shh, it’s okay, Hongjoong-ah,” Zico said gently. “It’s okay.” </em>
</p><p>
  <em> “My mom… my dad…” Hongjoong choked out between sobs.  </em>
</p><p>
  <em> “They are in a better place now, Hongjoong-ah. They’re up there.” Zico pointed up at the skies. “They’re watching over you. They’re so proud of you.” </em>
</p><p>
  <em> Hongjoong remembered looking up at the sky, tears blurring his vision as he stared into the endless expanse of blue. He remembered crying out to the sky, his voice riddled with pain and sorrow. </em>
</p><p>
  <em> “Mom!” He cried out. “Dad!”  </em>
</p><p>
  <em> “Why did you leave me?” </em>
</p><p>Since then, Hongjoong had moved from foster home to foster home, most of them rejecting him after a year because of ‘incidents’. There were reports of ‘flying items’ and ‘spontaneous headaches’. “Something isn’t right with that kid”, “He’s crazy”, “He’s cursed” - the same complaints came in year after year. It wasn’t Hongjoong’s fault that he had yet to learn to control his psychokinetic abilities, and yet, no one understood.</p><p>No one except Zico.</p><p>Zico had visited Hongjoong every now and then, checking in on how he was doing, talking to him about things that Hongjoong could never share with anyone else. Zico had helped him learn to control his abilities. Zico had helped him learn the full extent of his powers. Zico had been there for him when no one else had.</p><p>When Zico had died, Hongjoong had mourned. He had lost the one person in his life whom he could trust, who understood him, who cared for him.</p><p>Then SEVEN SEASONS recruited him, and suddenly he was exposed to a whole world of people who understood his situation. Who didn’t call him a freak. Who treasured his gift.</p><p>So Hongjoong had promised himself that he would be the world’s next great superhero. He would carry on Zico’s legacy. He would become the next Zico. </p><p>He would not - no, he <em> could not </em>waste Zico’s sacrifice.</p><p>Hongjoong unconsciously reached for his necklace, clutching onto the gold rings in determination. Whatever mission the world threw his way, he would succeed. He had to. Failure wasn’t an option for him.</p><p>The elevator doors opened and Hongjoong, Yeosang and Maddox stepped into the SEVEN SEASONS Command Centre - also known as Eden’s office.</p><p>Eden was sitting at the triangular glass table in the centre of the room, shuffling through the documents spread out over the top of it. He looked up upon hearing the lift arrive, and his stressed expression relaxed a little bit when he saw Hongjoong and Yeosang.</p><p>“Good, you’re finally here,” Eden sighed in relief. “I was beginning to wonder if you’d gotten my message.”</p><p>Hongjoong and Yeosang greeted the director with a bow, before Hongjoong spoke up. “What’s the mission, Director?” He asked, not wanting to waste any time. </p><p>Eden’s face hardened into an expression of stone. He tapped a button on the glass desk and a holographic image of a boy with ash gray hair showed up on the virtual screen in the middle of the desk.</p><p>“That is Jung Wooyoung.” Eden explained, pointing at the boy. “We are almost certain that he is enhanced. All of the information we gathered on him points towards the possibility that he is a pyrokinetic.”</p><p>Hongjoong raised his eyebrows in shock. “Pyrokinesis? That’s very destructive, and dangerous,” He quipped, in response to which Eden nodded his head gravely.</p><p>“We picked him up on our radar a couple of years ago, but he hasn’t responded to any of our attempts to recruit him, other than with quite profane texts,” The hologram switched to show some of the messages that Wooyoung had sent back to SEVEN SEASONS. Hongjoong winced at the number of profanities within such short replies.</p><p>Yeosang snorted as he read the texts. “Well, he’s made it quite clear that he wants to be left <em> alone </em>. Why is this a problem?”</p><p>Eden rolled his eyes. “As Hongjoong said, pyrokinesis is dangerous, especially when left unchecked. He could burn the city of Washington D.C. down within a fortnight. If he refuses to be recruited, then he is uncontrollable, and therefore a threat.”</p><p>Yeosang seemed reluctant, but he eventually nodded in agreement. “Okay. So he’s a potential threat,” He conceded. “That doesn’t warrant us tracking him down. And it’s definitely not urgent.”</p><p>“Actually, it is.” Eden swiped the screen to show a picture of five SEVEN SEASONS agents lying in a heap outside a bar. Hongjoong sucked in a breath, staring in horror at the bloody sight. He knew those agents - they were part of a highly capable SEVEN SEASONS SWAT team called <em> Treasure </em>. They were some of the agency’s best fighters - and by the looks of the surroundings, it didn’t seem like the fight had lasted very long.</p><p>Hongjoong squinted to see the stab wounds of the agents more clearly. They were cleanly cut deep into the bone, not messy or misplaced, and they had been positioned perfectly - some either went straight through the agents’ heads, which was a quick way of ensuring their death, and some had pierced through vital organs such as their heart and lungs. </p><p>“Wooyoung took this picture and sent it to us, last night,” Eden explained in a rather crude tone. “We saved it, but he deleted the message from both our computers and his before we could save that as well. And when we came to the scene, all the bodies were gone.”</p><p>“So you don’t have real evidence that it was him,” Yeosang muttered. Eden nodded. “Essentially, yes. I suppose he does not want the police on his tail as well.”</p><p>Hongjoong gulped. Clearly, Wooyoung was no amateur when it came to murder.</p><p>“It hardly matters,” Maddox butted in sharply. “We know that he’s out there, and we’re going to find him. It’s not like the police could do a much better job than we could, anyway.”</p><p>“So what’s the plan?” Yeosang asked impatiently, tapping his foot. As he did so, a few bits of frost grew on the floor beneath him. Hongjoong gave him a warning look, telepathically transmitting a message to him: <em> calm down </em>.</p><p>Eden pointed at the bright neon sign behind the bodies. “I say you investigate that bar first. Our agents had been following Wooyoung for a while, but he didn’t kill them until they got there. So either he didn’t see them until then, which is highly unlikely, given his skills,” Eden gestured vaguely at the bloody scene, “or this bar is a special place that he couldn’t let our agents see. You’re going to go there tomorrow, see what you find.”</p><p>Hongjoong frowned, shaking his head. “Something isn’t right,” He warned slowly. “Don’t you think it’s all too easy?”</p><p>Eden and Maddox both raised their eyebrows simultaneously. “What do you mean?” Maddox asked. Hongjoong sighed. “Guys, it’s obvious that this is a setup. Wooyoung lets agents follow him until he reaches a certain place, then kills them and <em> sends you a picture </em> with the logo of the bar so <em> clearly </em>in the background? For someone who is that skilled? It wasn’t an accident. He wants us to go there.”</p><p>Yeosang nodded worriedly. “Hongjoong is right. This is definitely a trap.”</p><p>“I’m aware that this is fishy,” Eden explained patiently. “But it’s the only lead we have on Wooyoung. Besides, he’s one enhanced, and there’s <em> two </em>of you. Even if things go wrong and he’s waiting for you, I’m sure you’ll be capable of getting out. By any means, I will be sending another agent with you just in case.”</p><p>“Another agent?” Hongjoong glared. “You never told me we had a third enhanced.”</p><p>“We don’t,” Maddox replied briskly. “But he might as well be one, with his skills.”</p><p>There was a sound of a door opening and both Hongjoong and Yeosang turned to see a rather tall boy with big puppy eyes and coconut-like dark brown hair walk in, smiling enthusiastically while waving at them.</p><p>“Hi! I’m Choi Jongho,” The boy said cheerfully. “I’m so excited to work with you guys!”</p><p>Hongjoong stared at the bubbly boy for a solid two minutes, then turned back to Eden, aghast. “No fucking way,” He yelled at the top of his lungs. “Are you out of your fucking mind? He’s a <em> kid </em>. He doesn’t look older than seventeen!”</p><p>“I’m sixteen, actually,” Jongho answered with an innocent grin, which earned Eden a disbelieving glare from Hongjoong. “There is no way Yeosang and I are bringing a <em> high school kid </em>into a kill mission like this.”</p><p>“I can handle it,” Jongho protested. “He can handle it,” Eden said at the same time. Jongho visibly beamed at Eden’s trust in him.</p><p>From where he was standing, Hongjoong could clearly see the anxious grimace on Yeosang’s face. “He’s too young, Eden,” Yeosang said slowly, in a much gentler tone than Hongjoong’s - starkly in contrast from his impatient and irate demeanour a few moments ago. “You saw what Wooyoung is capable of. If Jongho isn’t enhanced, he’ll be more of a victim than an aide.”</p><p>“I think I know what Jongho is capable of better than you two,” Eden replied sharply. “He’s an incredibly skilled agent. Besides, I think you’ll find it convenient if he is there to take down any regular backup that Wooyoung has.”</p><p>Hongjoong wanted to protest more, but a glowering look from Eden shut him up. He realised that there was no arguing with the director. He had already made up his mind.</p><p>“Alright, fine. Jongho comes with us. We’ll train with him tonight, see how good he is, figure out some team strategy. Tomorrow, we’ll hit up the bar.” Hongjoong announced with an air of finality. Eden and Maddox both smiled, seemingly pleased.</p><p>“Well then, you know what you need to do,” Eden gestured towards the elevator door. “Off you go.”</p><p>-----</p><p>The next afternoon, as soon as the entire team - Yunho, San, and Mingi - had all returned from their college classes (Wooyoung found this ridiculous - underground gang members were still making time to <em> graduate </em>), Wooyoung jumped up from his place on the couch, ready to put their plan into action.</p><p>“Alright, we’re all here,” He announced sternly. “Let’s go. Mingi, you said you’d come up with a tracking algorithm to find Kang and Kim? Run it right now.”</p><p>“I already did,” Mingi replied as he strapped on a weapons belt. “But it’s weird. I should’ve gotten results just a few minutes ago. I don’t know why it still hasn’t found them. I searched through the entirety of Washington D.C.”</p><p>Wooyoung frowned. “What? What do you mean, you can’t find them? I gave you the entire night to figure this out!”</p><p>“Yes, and I figured it out two hours after you told me to. I checked it last night as well, and it gave me their location just fine. I don’t know why it’s not working right now,” Mingi answered in a frustrated voice.</p><p>“Uh, guys?” San’s voice pulled both Mingi and Wooyoung out of their thoughts. “Mingi’s algorithm isn’t working because they’re not in D.C.”</p><p>Wooyoung and Mingi turned to San, staring at him. “What?” Wooyoung demanded. “Where are they?”</p><p>San pointed to the virtual image of New York City, and Wooyoung followed his gaze to see what he was pointing at.</p><p>In the image, two men wearing black masks were walking down the street right outside the bar. Although they were not wearing their superhero suits, Wooyoung caught sight of the small ‘S.S’ engraved on the bottom right corner of their masks - one of the masks had the engraving in blue, the other in silver.</p><p>“They’re… right here,” Yunho muttered. “They are right outside the bar.”</p><p>“They’re trying to get in,” San commented as the four watched the two superheroes knock on the door to the bar. “What do we do?”</p><p>Wooyoung watched slowly, then his mouth shaped into a cruel grin. He quickly typed a few commands on the board, and observed as the metal door opened automatically and the two superheroes stepped in.</p><p>“Looks like our work is cut out for us,” Wooyoung smirked. “Get changed into some nice clothes. We’re going clubbing instead.”</p><p>Wooyoung got changed in the nick of time, quickly shoving on a black dress shirt with a low V-neck collar, and simple but surprisingly flexible black dress pants. Around his neck, he placed a black choker with a topaz pendant hanging from it, along with a few other bejewelled silver chains. He quickly applied a hint of eyeshadow and ran a hand through his hair, messing it up before walking out of his room.</p><p>Yunho, San, and Mingi, who were all waiting for him, stared at him in disapproval. None of them had gotten half as dressed up as Wooyoung had. It didn’t even look like Mingi had brushed his hair.</p><p>“Are you serious, Wooyoung?” Yunho chided. “It’s not like you’re meeting the president. We’re going to go in, kick ass, maybe take hostages if we can, and get out. Why the hell are you so dressed up?”</p><p>Wooyoung rolled his eyes. “Please, as if my charms haven’t helped up succeed in our missions thousands of times before.”</p><p>“These are superheroes, not our normal thirsty-and-wasted-college-kid customers. They’re not going to be swayed,” San warned him. Wooyoung laughed. “No one can resist me. Not even superheroes.”</p><p>“I’ll bet you twenty bucks they won’t even look twice,” Mingi commented as the four sat down at the booth that would take them to the bar. Wooyoung sighed, shaking his head as he watched the booth ascend into darkness, then the familiar neon lights and crazed crowd of the bar came into view.</p><p>Wooyoung caught sight of a rather short but slim man sitting at the bar table, looking around suspiciously. He had big brown eyes and messy dark brown hair, with fair skin and a sharp jawline. He wore a white dress shirt and a blood-red blazer, with tight-fitting black dress pants. From where Wooyoung was watching, he could see the hint of a black mask hidden in the blazer, with the tiny ‘S.S’ letters engraved on it.</p><p>He raised his eyebrows in surprise. Sure, superheroes were brave and strong and all that shit, but he wasn’t expecting them to be <em> hot </em>.</p><p>Definitely not <em> that </em>hot.</p><p>“You know what, Mingi?” Wooyoung murmured as they stepped out of the booth. “Bet’s on.”</p><p>Mingi smirked. “Just don’t fall in love with him.” Wooyoung scoffed at him. “Please, I have more self-control than that.”</p><p>“We’ll see,” Yunho muttered under his breath. “You go work your magic with Kang. The rest of us will find Kim. Be on guard at all times. You never know if Kim is playing his mind tricks on us.”</p><p>“See y’all in a minute,” Wooyoung grinned as he undid another button on his v-neck dress shirt, running a hand through his hair once again. Then he walked over to the handsome superhero, his trademark smirk on his face.</p><p>As Wooyoung approached, he noticed that Kang had caught sight of him. For a few seconds, Kang just stared at him, an unreadable expression on his face, but as Wooyoung came closer, his eyes narrowed and his body tensed up defensively. </p><p>Wooyoung hesitated for a bit. Was Kang <em> afraid </em>? </p><p>Still keeping his chin raised, Wooyoung slipped into the seat next to Kang at the bar, his smirk still plastered across his face. He noticed Kang watching his every move, but that hardly irked him. He was used to it.</p><p>“Hey there,” Wooyoung cooed in a low voice. “I’m Wooyoung. I don’t think I’ve seen you around here before.”</p><p>Kang’s expression might as well have been carved from stone. “Yeosang,” He answered stoically, giving Wooyoung a curt nod. “This is my first time here.” Wooyoung filed away that information - so Yeosang <em> was </em> the Kang that they were looking for. For some odd reason, he did not feel very accomplished knowing that. He was more focused on how Yeosang looked unfazed, maybe even <em> bored </em>by his charms.</p><p>From across the bar, Wooyoung could see Mingi watching the two of them, a shit-eating grin on his face as he mouthed: <em> PAY UP. </em></p><p>Wooyoung rolled his eyes, sending Mingi a death glare. Yeosang frowned at him before turning to look at Mingi.</p><p>“Is he your friend?” Yeosang asked. His tone seemed neither accusatory, nor jealous, nor surprised - it was as if he was a robot, asking purely out of the desire for knowledge. Wooyoung found it irritating that the man was hardly paying attention to him - he was clearly not checking him out, nor was he responding positively to any of Wooyoung’s attempts.</p><p>“Yeah, he’s a friend,” Wooyoung replied in a rather irate tone. Yeosang raised his eyebrows. “You don’t seem too happy about that.”</p><p>“Oh, it’s nothing. Nothing important, anyway. Not right now.” Wooyoung turned his gaze back to Yeosang, a coquettish smile playing on his lips. Yeosang merely stared back, deadpan.</p><p>“I’m sorry,” He finally replied, looking clearly uncomfortable. “It’s clear you’re trying to make a move on me, but I’m not interested.”</p><p>It took quite a lot of self-control for Wooyoung to stop himself from choking. <em> No one </em> turned him down. <em> Everyone </em>was interested in him. It was impossible for him to even fathom the idea that someone might not be attracted to him in the least. It was a miracle that Wooyoung managed to keep his confident composure.</p><p>“Not interested, hm?” Wooyoung drawled the words with a distasteful expression. “Are you here with someone, then?”</p><p>“No,” Yeosang’s voice was level and patient. “I’m not here for…<em> that </em>.”</p><p>Wooyoung laughed, throwing his head back as he did so to expose his collarbones, which usually tended to work. “Then what are you here for? This isn’t exactly the best place for making friends.”</p><p>Yeosang did not seem angry, nor defensive, and his expression stayed just as tranquil and calm as ever. It infuriated Wooyoung.</p><p>Wooyoung wasn’t sure why he cared so much. Sure, no one had <em> ever </em>turned him down before, but he wasn’t the type to pine after someone. If someone ended it, then Wooyoung would walk away. He’d never been in a relationship with anyone that important. </p><p>So why did it bother him that this stranger (albeit a beautiful one) was so <em> uninterested </em> in him?</p><p>“I’m with a friend,” Yeosang explained slowly. “Like you are.”</p><p>“Oh, how loyal of you,” Wooyoung commented. “Well, I’m sure you must be bored out of your mind right now. Could I at least interest you in a drink?”</p><p>Yeosang gave him a confused look. “I already said that I wasn’t interested in you. Why do you still persist?”</p><p>“Please,” Wooyoung scoffed. “If you plant a seed, do you expect it to grow within a week? For the first month or so, you’ll just see a stem, a green bud. But after a while, it will grow into a beautiful flower. It just takes patience,” He smirked, cocking an eyebrow at Yeosang. “For you, I have an infinite amount of that.”</p><p>Yeosang paused for a moment, as if he was thinking, then he sighed in exasperation. “You know,” He said rather disbelievingly, “That was a very profound analogy. I cannot believe you used it to try to hook up with some stranger you met in a bar.”</p><p>“But you liked it, didn’t you?” Wooyoung winked. He knew he was being unbearably annoying, but it was working. Yeosang at least looked slightly intrigued by him.</p><p>“Whatever.” Yeosang rolled his eyes. “If you want to waste your time and money on me, then be my guest. It’s quite entertaining to watch your desperate attempts.”</p><p>“I can be much more entertaining than that, trust me,” Wooyoung replied smoothly, then he gestured for Yunho, who was now disguised as the bartender, towards him. The two exchanged a knowing glance as Yunho approached.</p><p>“The typical order, sir?” Yunho asked politely. Wooyoung grinned. “Two, please.”</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>kudos and comments are always appreciated!</p><p>update: so turns out i am horrible at sticking to a 4-5 day posting schedule. i promise i will post a new chapter at lease once a week!</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0003"><h2>3. The Shadow Man</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>The mission at the bar goes sour. Hongjoong meets an incredibly powerful necromancer who happens to save his friends' lives.</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>I'm very bad at updating according to my 4-5 day schedule so I promise that I will update once a week (every 7 days ish). I apologise in advance for late updating.</p><p>thank you to everyone who left kudos and comments! they were really sweet &lt;3</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Hongjoong knew that when he had signed up to be one of SEVEN SEASONS’ superheroes, he was signing up for a whole lot of shit. </p><p>However, he was pretty sure <em> babysitter </em>wasn’t on the list of jobs he’d signed up for.</p><p>Hongjoong, Yeosang and Jongho had flown into New York City through one of SEVEN SEASONS’ aircrafts, landed just in the outskirts of town, then they had driven to the bar with a car that Hongjoong had rented. They had parked a few blocks away from the bar, then they had gathered their things and prepared to walk there.</p><p>“Jongho, let Yeosang and I go in first. You follow after. Wait around the corner until I give you further instructions,” Hongjoong ordered as he and Yeosang slipped handguns and grenades into the folds of their impeccably expensive suits.</p><p>Jongho sighed. “You really think I’m incapable of fighting, don’t you?” He complained in an exasperated tone. Hongjoong took a deep breath, not wanting to fight with the younger.</p><p>“Jongho.” Hongjoong stopped assembling his gun to look the younger straight in the eye. “I don’t doubt your skills. But you’re only sixteen. I think I’d kill myself out of guilt if you got hurt during this mission.” Jongho raised his eyebrows, surprised, but his angry expression faded away into an innocent, fearful expression of a sixteen-year-old being thrown into a bear fight. Hongjoong felt slightly relieved, knowing that the kid hadn’t been completely corrupted by SEVEN SEASONS’ heroics yet. </p><p>“I am not going to throw you into the line of fire unless I absolutely need to,” Hongjoong explained gently. “Yeosang and I are going to scout the situation and find Wooyoung. When we do, I will call you in.”</p><p>For a few seconds, the younger looked persistent, but he eventually gave in. “Okay,” He mumbled, pouting slightly. “How are you going to get in? Those doors have at least three different security locks on them.”</p><p>“Can you disable them quickly?” Yeosang asked. Jongho hesitated. “Well… yes, I can disable them within a minute, but the alarm will be set off after a few minutes. You might as well just break the wall down and announce yourselves as superheroes.”</p><p>“I’ll see if I can use mind-manipulation to force someone to let Yeosang and I in,” Hongjoong decided. “When I call you in, you can disable the defences on your own. By that time, we’ll have located Wooyoung and there will be no need for subtlety anymore.”</p><p>“Alright.” Jongho nodded in agreement, closing the trunk of the car after Hongjoong and Yeosang had collected all of their weapons. “I’ll wait here. Good luck!”</p><p>Hongjoong smiled at the younger, thanking him as he and Yeosang set on their way.</p><p>“He’s a good kid,” Yeosang mused as the two walked down the street. “I can’t believe SEVEN SEASONS recruit kids that young. We weren’t recruited until we were eighteen.”</p><p>“I know, right? You’re twenty-one and I’m twenty-two, and even we’ve never dealt with another enhanced before. Then they send a <em> sixteen-year old </em>on a mission like this? What was Eden even thinking?” Hongjoong grumbled. “He’s still a kid! He probably doesn’t even have a license yet! How could Eden live with that guilt?”</p><p>“Well, there <em> is </em>a reason why Eden is the director of SEVEN SEASONS and not you,” Yeosang muttered darkly, the two approaching a thick metal door which was meant to be the entrance to the bar. “You’re too… good. And not as in skill-wise, more like… moral-compass-wise.”</p><p>Hongjoong laughed, shaking his head as he knocked on the door. “That’s why we’re superheroes.”</p><p>To Hongjoong’s surprise, the door to the bar opened immediately, without even needing any passcode. He narrowed his eyes suspiciously - he hadn’t been using his mental-manipulation powers, so someone must have let them in.</p><p>“This is a horrible idea,” Hongjoong murmured as the two stepped into the bar. “This is <em> certainly </em>a set-up. We don’t even know what Wooyoung looks like - those pictures SEVEN SEASONS have of him are ridiculously unclear. As if we’d be able to recognise him,” Hongjoong replied angrily. </p><p>“Oh my god, let’s just get this over with, alright? Split up, scour the room, collect information if possible.” The younger turned to glare at Hongjoong, and Hongjoong sighed reluctantly.</p><p>“Fine.”</p><p>Hongjoong began weaving through the crowds of people in the bar, almost going deaf from the blaring EDM music blasting from the colossal speakers. He quickly relaxed his shoulders, put on a confident smirk, and added a bit of a lilt to his walk, disguising right into the swarm of partygoers around him. As he did so, however, his eyes flicked from left to right, searching the room for any clues about Wooyoung and his whereabouts.</p><p>Unfortunately, Hongjoong noticed that his friend was not faring as well as he was. Yeosang, who was now sitting at a bar table and looking around the room, was absolutely rigid, with a dark and serious expression on his face that certainly did not match the atmosphere around him. He clearly stood out, which wasn’t helping their ‘subtle’ approach.</p><p>“Yeosang, you look like you want to murder someone,” Hongjoong muttered into his earpiece. “At least try to blend in?”</p><p>“I am not here for thoughtless drinking and partying,” Yeosang answered sharply. “I will not lower myself to this level.”</p><p>“You look like a giraffe in the middle of a bunch of penguins. If Wooyoung is here, he’ll suspect you immediately,” Hongjoong hissed. From his earpiece, he could practically <em> hear </em>Yeosang rolling his eyes.</p><p>“Then he’ll come to us, and our job will be ten times easier,” Yeosang replied calmly. “Even if we know what he looks like, those pictures that SEVEN SEASONS have of him are from almost four years ago. He’d look too different. I suggest you ask around, see if anyone knows him and can lead us to him.”</p><p>“That is one of the worst strategies you have ever devised,” Hongjoong snapped. </p><p>“This isn’t an ideal situation either.” Hongjoong really hated it when Yeosang was right. “Just do what you can.”</p><p>Scowling, Hongjoong began to jump from person to person, asking for Wooyoung. Most of his excuses were pretty lame - “Hey, I’m a friend of Jung Wooyoung’s. Do you know him?” “I’m looking for Jung Wooyoung. Have you seen him around?” Unfortunately, no one he asked knew who Wooyoung was, let alone his location. After a while, Hongjoong leaned against one of the walls of the bar, exhaling in frustration.</p><p>What was SEVEN SEASONS even thinking? This was a complete waste of their time. They could scour the entire bar for the whole night, but he was sure they still wouldn’t find Wooyoung. And it didn’t seem like anyone had any information on him either.</p><p>That was when Hongjoong saw him.</p><p>Off in the corner of the bar, a tall man was standing there, wearing a black choker, black blazer, red dress shirt and black pants. He had white-blonde hair that was parted on the right, with heavy, smokey black eyeshadow that highlighted his piercing dark gray eyes. He looked like he had come right out of a <em> Vogue </em> magazine cover - he had marble-like pale skin, full red lips and a sturdy physique. He was <em> breathtaking </em>.</p><p>And he was staring right at Hongjoong.</p><p>Hongjoong wasn’t sure what made him do it, but he found himself walking towards the man, slipping through the crowds of people to reach him. As he approached, the man smirked slightly, looking pleasantly surprised.</p><p>“You know,” He said in a low voice once Hongjoong had reached him. “For a superhero, I would have expected you to be a little more cautious of who you approach in a bar.”</p><p>Hongjoong’s heart raced as he reached for the gun hidden under his blazer. Was this Wooyoung? Or an accomplice of his? </p><p>The man noticed this movement and raised an eyebrow, amused. “Relax, I’m not here to kill you. If I were, you’d already be dead.”</p><p>Hongjoong frowned. “How do you know me?”</p><p>The man laughed. “I don’t. I only know that you are a superhero, either Kang or Kim.” He gestured to the part of Hongjoong’s blazer where his gun was concealed. “My abilities allow me to sense weaponry that is nearby. I immediately observed the multitude of weapons that you are hiding under your blazer.”</p><p>Hongjoong did a double take. “You’re enhanced as well?” He asked, shocked. The man looked rather irritated.</p><p>“SEVEN SEASONS compartmentalised a lot of information, I see. It will shock you to know that there are <em>many </em>enhanced around the world, even though SEVEN SEASONS only keeps a few on their radar. It shouldn't be a surprise to find out that someone is enhanced.” He waved his fingers and black sparkles danced between them, beautiful but deadly sharp, as if they were a warning to anyone who tried to cross him.</p><p>“You’re looking for Wooyoung, aren’t you?” The man asked. Hongjoong nodded, his heart almost leaping for joy at the possibility of making progress on this mission.</p><p>Then the man pointed at the place where Yeosang was sitting, gesturing at another ash-purple-haired man who was now seated across Yeosang. Hongjoong watched as a tall bartender arrived with two drinks for the two men, and the purple-haired man thanked him graciously.</p><p>“That’s your guy. Oh, and by the way, your friend is about to be poisoned.”</p><p>-----</p><p>“Ah, drinks!” Yeosang watched in amusement as the man across him lit up visibly, taking his own glass and handing Yeosang the other. He thanked the bartender before turning back to Yeosang, his regular smirk placed across his face.</p><p>“Cheers,” He said amiably, then he lifted his drink to his lips. Yeosang raised his glass, about to do the same.</p><p>Then a gunshot filled the air, and broken glass and liquor spilled across Yeosang’s lap, Yeosang jumping up and crying out in surprise. The bar suddenly became eerily still, everyone turning to see where the shot had come from.</p><p>Yeosang looked up to see Hongjoong standing across the bar, his black mask covering the majority of his face, and a smoking gun in his hand. He pointed the gun right at the purple-haired man in front of Yeosang, his fingers reaching for the trigger.</p><p>“Get the fuck away from him, Jung Wooyoung,” Hongjoong hissed angrily. Yeosang’s eyes widened when he realised what was happening and he whirled around to face the purple-haired man, who was standing there, looking exasperated.</p><p>"This is not how I wanted this evening to go," Wooyoung said in an irritated voice. Yeosang glared at him. "Did you - you just tried to <em>poison </em>me, didn't you?"</p><p>Wooyoung rolled his eyes. "Glad to see you're not an idiot."</p><p>“Stand down, or we will use force,” Hongjoong shoved his way through the crowds of terrified people, his gun still aimed at Wooyoung’s head. “Surrender now.”</p><p>Wooyoung threw his head back, laughing cruelly. “Well, well. Dear Yeosang, I do apologise. We were having such a good time.”</p><p>Suddenly, a white form streaked past Hongjoong, sending the elder flying into the wall and causing him to drop his gun. The form materialised into a man with a silver streak in his otherwise dark brown hair, staring smugly at Hongjoong’s collapsed form.</p><p>“Catch me if you can, hero,” The man drawled, then he zipped away again, too fast for Yeosang to see.</p><p>Yeosang immediately shoved on his mask, tendrils of pale blue frost swarming around his hands. He tried to run to Hongjoong, but suddenly a wall of pure fire materialised in front of him, blocking his path.</p><p>He turned to see Wooyoung sneering, orange light flickering in his palm. “Not so fast, gorgeous,” Wooyoung purred evilly. “I’m not done with you.”</p><p>“<em> Hongjoong </em>!” Yeosang shot blasts of ice at the fire wall, trying to cool the flames down enough for him to get through. Unfortunately, the wall stood strong, and Wooyoung hardly looked winded from the effort.</p><p>“Yeosang!” Hongjoong’s voice echoed in Yeosang’s earpiece. “They have another enhanced. He’s got super-speed, probably looking at some form of aerokinesis.”</p><p>“I noticed,” Yeosang grumbled. “Now I know why this is a trap.” He pointed a finger at Wooyoung and a sharp icicle went flying towards him, but Wooyoung merely clicked his fingers and melted it within milliseconds.</p><p>“You can’t hope to overpower me, Yeosang,” Wooyoung simpered. “You don’t stand a chance.”</p><p>Hongjoong suddenly appeared beside Yeosang, having teleported to his side. There was a bruise on his elbow, but otherwise he looked alright. He gave Yeosang a withering look. </p><p>“How could you not recognise him up close like that?” Hongjoong scowled. Yeosang flushed. “I’m sorry, I got distracted.”</p><p>“Like hell you did,” Hongjoong huffed angrily and rolled his eyes. “You deal with Wooyoung. I’ll find the aerokinetic. I can sense his thoughts.”</p><p>“In case you haven’t noticed,” Yeosang swiped his arm forward and a wall of ice quickly blocked the fireball that Wooyoung had thrown at him. “I haven’t been very successful in ‘dealing’ with Wooyoung.”</p><p>“Figure it out!” Hongjoong snapped his fingers and a bar table went flying towards empty space, colliding with an invisible form with a loud crash. Immediately, the silver-streaked man appeared, tumbling backwards from the impact. He hissed in pain, but stood up and disappeared once again in a flash of white.</p><p>“Where did he go?” Yeosang cried out. Hongjoong scowled at him. “Focus on Wooyoung!”</p><p>From all around them, the crowds of people were screaming in terror, almost getting crushed as they tried to avoid the destruction that was going on around them. Yeosang’s eyes widened when he saw a group of people being pushed towards Wooyoung’s wall of fire.</p><p>Yeosang cursed and shot a blast of ice at the ground beside the wall, creating a wall of ice in between the fire wall and the people. At first, the people sighed in relief, but Wooyoung clenched his fist and the fire wall expanded, engulfing the ice wall and beginning to melt it.</p><p>“<em> Jongho! </em>” Yeosang screamed into his earpiece. “Jongho, we need you now! Open the door and get everyone out of here!”</p><p>“Oh, how lovely,” Wooyoung said cheerfully. “You’ve called in your backup.” He waved his hand and a hot blast of fire shot towards Yeosang, who barely managed to duck in time. “Now it’s my turn.”</p><p>Suddenly, the ground seemed to tremble and shake under Yeosang’s feet. He barely had time to scream before several rocks popped up from below him, catapulting him to the other side of the bar.</p><p>“What the fuck?” Yeosang gasped for air as he spoke into his earpiece. “Hongjoong, they’ve got a third enhanced, a geokinetic.”</p><p>“Are you kidding me?” Hongjoong’s voice shrieked back. “How did SEVEN SEASONS miss this?”</p><p>All of a sudden, the metal door of the bar crashed open and Jongho was standing there, fully armed. He caught sight of Yeosang lying in a heap on the floor and moved to reach him.</p><p>“Jongho, no!” Yeosang cried out, but it was too late. Wooyoung flicked his fingers and suddenly Jongho was engulfed in fire, the younger screaming in agony.</p><p>“<em> No! </em>” Seeing the young boy in pain sent a new stream of adrenaline through Yeosang. He stood up and ran to Jongho, shooting ice blast after ice blast at the boy to try to cool him down. He then sent a rage of sharp icicles at Wooyoung, who ducked to avoid them. In that split second, the fire around Jongho dissipated, but Wooyoung quickly regenerated it as soon as he was back on his feet.</p><p>“<em> Help me! </em>” Jongho cried out, his screams bloodcurdling and painful. Yeosang covered the boy in ice, which at least prevented Jongho from burning to ash. However, the pain that the fire was causing was still blatantly obvious on Jongho’s face.</p><p>“Leave him alone!” Yeosang screamed at Wooyoung, who rolled his eyes. “How brave of you. You now beg for mercy from a villain. Yeah, you’re a real superhero.”</p><p>“Do it to me instead!” Yeosang begged. “Please, let him go!”</p><p>Wooyoung raised an eyebrow, as if he were considering it. Unfortunately, he did not get much time to do so.</p><p>A deafening boom sounded across the room and Wooyoung was thrown aside by a huge mass of darkness, the fire around Jongho disappearing immediately. Yeosang quickly rushed to attend to Jongho. He wasn’t burned - Yeosang’s ice shields had done the trick - but he was shaking, and Yeosang knew that he must have been in an excruciating amount of pain.</p><p>“Jongho, get out of here, don’t get involved in the fight,” Yeosang ordered. “Get as many people out of here as you can, but don’t engage any hostiles. You’re in no shape to do so.”</p><p>“What about you and Hongjoong?” Jongho asked, heaving for breath. Yeosang eyed the mass of darkness warily. “I think we have help. Now go!”</p><p>Jongho nodded and sprang to his feet, ushering people out of the bar and quickly leaving the place himself. Yeosang then turned to Wooyoung, who was now collapsed against one of the walls of the bar. The tendrils of darkness solidified into a man with white-blonde hair and dark gray eyes, black sparkles surrounding his entire form.</p><p>From his position on the floor, Wooyoung looked fearful for a second, but then his expression turned into one of white-hot fury.</p><p>“<em> You </em>,” Wooyoung spat. The man folded his arms across his chest, a stern look on his face. “You know you cannot defeat me, Wooyoung. Leave the superheroes alone, or you will deal with me.”</p><p>Wooyoung smirked. “Well, you see, dear brother,” He snapped. “I may not be able to defeat you, but there is someone who can.”</p><p>The man frowned, but then a blast of gold light hit him and sent him stumbling backwards. Yeosang looked up in shock to see the tall bartender standing beside Wooyoung, his palms glowing with golden light.</p><p>The black-magic man looked surprised for a second, but then his face morphed into a mocking smile. “Oh, Wooyoung,” He sighed. “You’ve always been so blind.”</p><p>“He can kill you!” Wooyoung screamed. “He’ll do it!”</p><p>“No he won’t,” The man replied calmly. “Do you seriously think, between a necromancer and a healer, that a <em> healer </em>will be the one to kill?”</p><p>“He’s not weak,” Wooyoung replied furiously. “Unlike you.”</p><p>The man’s face darkened. “We’ll see.”</p><p>Then sharp shadows shot at Wooyoung, who was barely shielded by the golden forcefield that the bartender placed around him. Some of the shadows dissipated, but others weakened the forcefield, leaving large cracks along it. Yeosang watched as the bartender’s face contorted in pain, struggling to keep the shield up.</p><p>“One more shot and that shield will shatter,” The man warned. “Last chance, Wooyoung.”</p><p>“Fuck off,” Wooyoung hissed, then he turned to his three friends - the bartender (healer), the aerokinetic and the geokinetic. “Take Yeosang.”</p><p>“What?” Yeosang immediately sent bolts of ice shooting all around him, but he was too slow. The aerokinetic had already reached him, and he threw a punch right at Yeosang’s face with impeccable accuracy and strength. Yeosang tried to retaliate, but his entire body was suddenly tied up by thick green vines, preventing him from moving.</p><p>The shadow-man sent another array of darkness at Wooyoung, but Wooyoung quickly rolled over and dodged it, running to Yeosang, who was now surrounded by all three of Wooyoung’s allies.</p><p>“Yeosang!” Hongjoong called out for him, lifting his fingers as silver sparkles danced around them.</p><p>Yeosang felt something sharp press against his neck and he realised that the aerokinetic was holding him at knifepoint. He froze, eyes widening in horror. From across the room, Hongjoong also went stock-still in fear.</p><p>“If you attack, your friend dies,” Wooyoung warned darkly. “And you won’t have enough time to use your powers. In case you haven’t noticed, San is much, much faster than you.”</p><p>San (the aerokinetic, apparently) tightened his grip on the knife, and Yeosang gasped for air.</p><p>Hongjoong looked like he was about to attack, but the shadow-man caught onto his wrist and held him back.</p><p>“You don’t stand a chance anymore. We have to get out of here,” The man warned.</p><p>“I’m not leaving without Yeosang,” Hongjoong replied angrily. The man scowled. “You and your friend will <em> die </em>if you don’t leave now! Their healer can defend against my magic. I cannot stop them now. Besides, your friend is outnumbered.”</p><p>“But -”</p><p>“The kid.” The man pointed towards the exit of the bar. “If you stay here, they will target the kid. You need to get him and teleport out of here.”</p><p>Hongjoong’s eyes widened in worry, and he glanced at Yeosang. Yeosang nodded his head frantically. </p><p>“Go!” Yeosang croaked out. “Get Jongho out of this city!”</p><p>“But, Yeosang -”</p><p>“I’ll be okay!”</p><p>The last thing Yeosang saw was the shadow man dissipating into darkness and Hongjoong teleporting out of the place. Then a fist made contact with Yeosang’s face, and he passed out.</p><p>-----</p><p>Hongjoong barely blinked between reappearing next to Jongho, grabbing his hand and teleporting them both back to SEVEN SEASONS headquarters. He didn’t start thinking properly until he had caught his breath, coughing and grimacing as he lay against the floor of the training room. </p><p>“FUCK!” He yelled loudly, sitting up in anger and frustration. “MOTHERFUCKING -”</p><p>“Don’t swear!” Jongho, who was sitting on the floor beside him, covered his ears and scrunched up his nose as he tried to block out Hongjoong’s cascade of curses. Hongjoong looked over almost incredulously, ready to yell at him, but the younger boy’s expression was so pure and upset that Hongjoong could not bring himself to be angry anymore.</p><p>Sighing, Hongjoong stood up, shaking his head and clenching his fists. “How could I let that happen?” He mumbled. “How could I let them take Yeosang? I was so stupid -”</p><p>“No, you weren’t,” Jongho protested. “It’s not your fault. How were we supposed to know that there were <em> four </em>enhanced? We expected to only fight one.”</p><p>“Still, I should have seen it coming! I should have stayed by Yeosang’s side. I should have been more cautious,” Hongjoong put his face in his hands. “If it weren’t for that shadow guy…”</p><p>Jongho visibly gulped, and Hongjoong remembered the pain that he had been put through. If it weren’t for that shadow guy, Jongho would’ve died.</p><p>“How are you feeling?” Hongjoong asked gently. “You took a bad hit. Did you get burned?”</p><p>Jongho shook his head. “I’m fine. Yeosang’s ice shield prevented me from sustaining any damage, but the pain was still there.”</p><p>Wincing, Hongjoong reached over to pat the younger boy on his head. “I’m so sorry,” He whispered. “That must have been like hell.” He reached into his pocket and pulled out a bar of chocolate, handing it to the younger boy. “Here, have this.”</p><p>Jongho raised an eyebrow. “Do you just keep chocolate in your pocket everywhere you go?”</p><p>The elder shrugged, smiling wryly. “Of course. It’s helpful when I need to keep my energy up.”</p><p>The younger looked hesitant, but he eventually tore open the wrapper and began chewing on the candy bar. Although he had been quite disapproving of Hongjoong carrying around chocolate everywhere, it was clear that he enjoyed it a lot. His face morphed into a soft, satisfied smile that was filled with innocence and purity, and it broke Hongjoong’s heart that the poor kid had gone through so much pain that night.</p><p>“I spoke to the shadow man before the attack,” The elder said quietly. “He knew who Wooyoung was - presumably because Wooyoung is his brother. Do you know who the shadow man is? His name, at least?” Hongjoong asked. Jongho bit his lip, playing with the chocolate and looking down at the ground in hesitation. Hongjoong narrowed his eyes. “Jongho, do we know him?”</p><p>The younger boy sighed, trembling a little as he spoke. “Yes, SEVEN SEASONS knows him. I - I wasn’t supposed to know about it, but a few months ago, I started wondering… how many other enhanced people are there? So I hacked into the agency’s database and found out about the other enhanced they were keeping tabs on,” He admitted. “So far, there are hardly any. There was Wooyoung, there’s you two, and then there was that guy. Please don’t tell Eden. I really didn’t mean to harm SEVEN SEASONS, I was just curious!” The younger boy pouted pleadingly, and Hongjoong almost laughed.</p><p>“Relax,” He said genially. “I’m not going to tell Eden. What else do we know about the shadow guy?”</p><p>“Here, let me show you.” Jongho stood up and Hongjoong followed him to a table over at the side of the room. Looking around to make sure no one else had entered the training room, Jongho opened his phone and activated the virtual screen, on which a holographic image of the man’s face appeared.</p><p>“His name is Park Seonghwa,” Jongho explained. “He’s a necromancer, as you already know. Wooyoung is his younger brother.”</p><p>Hongjoong frowned. “Why was he fighting him, then?”</p><p>“We don’t know.” Jongho looked apologetic. “They don’t live together, though. They’ve gone out of their way to avoid each other, so I don’t know why Seonghwa was there at the bar.”</p><p>“He probably didn’t know Wooyoung lived there,” Hongjoong suggested, but Jongho shook his head. “No, it’s… it’s more than that.” </p><p>Swiping against the virtual screen, Jongho changed the display to a list of attributes labelled ‘Known Abilities’. The list included ‘instantaneous weapon conjuring’, ‘umbrakinesis, limited to shadows’, ‘shadow-travel’, ‘pain inducement’ and ‘aura absorption’. Hongjoong’s eyes widened as he read the list - there had to be at least thirty different abilities on there, and many of them were very, very dangerous. Aura absorption, for example - that meant Seonghwa could literally suck the life out of someone and leave them a dead corpse while gaining all of their abilities, energy and enhancement (if applicable). Instantaneous weapon conjuring - that meant Seonghwa could literally <em> create </em>any weapon he wanted with a click of his fingers. Hongjoong shivered at the prospect of that potential.</p><p>“What the hell…” Hongjoong muttered, shocked. Jongho nodded grimly. “Yeah, he is <em> extremely </em> dangerous. He and Wooyoung used to work in this gang called <em> Aurora </em> . Their parents worked there too until SEVEN SEASONS sent out a kill order for them. Then the two brothers rose to the top of the ranks. SEVEN SEASONS was preparing to take them down, but one day, Seonghwa appeared at HQ in Washington and he offered a deal. He promised to leave America and never return to the country, as well as completely disassemble and terminate <em> Aurora </em>, as long as the agency left him alone and the members of his gang were given jobs in SEVEN SEASONS as agents. His reasoning was that the members were just trying to survive and that they needed the money. He said that if SEVEN SEASONS could give them stable jobs, they would no longer look towards gang warfare.”</p><p>Hongjoong’s eyes widened. “Wow. He just gave up his freedom, just like that?”</p><p>Jongho shrugged. “It wasn’t giving up freedom. He was only banned from America, but the agency won’t chase him down if he’s not in the country. Really, he gained freedom rather than lost it. SEVEN SEASONS knew that he was too large of a threat to recruit, so they agreed to the deal with Seonghwa.”</p><p>Hongjoong scrunched up his nose in confusion. “Why did they agree to just ban him from America? Doesn’t SEVEN SEASONS oversee global security?”</p><p>Jongho shrugged. “Well, yes, but the SEVEN SEASONS branches in the US have the most technology, weaponry, information, etc. They wanted to make sure that Seonghwa wouldn’t get his hands on those. So, essentially… Seonghwa wasn’t supposed to be there last night. He’s lucky that he was able to escape.”</p><p>“And Wooyoung? What happened to him?”</p><p>Jongho gave him a dark look. “We don’t know. No one knows. One day he was on the registry for the gang members of <em> Aurora </em>, the next day he disappeared. Seonghwa never mentioned him either.”</p><p>Hongjoong pursed his lips, deep in thought as he stared at the list of Seonghwa’s abilities. Without Yeosang, he and Jongho were even more outnumbered than they already were. They needed another enhanced to defeat Wooyoung, and Seonghwa had clearly shown his capability of doing so.</p><p>“We need his help,” Hongjoong decided. “Where is Seonghwa now?”</p><p>Jongho clicked on the screen. “He’s based in Lagos, but he’s been travelling around all of Nigeria for the past few months. He generally doesn’t stay in one country for more than half a year, though.”</p><p>“What?” Hongjoong frowned in confusion. “Why is he in Nigeria?”</p><p>“He works with a few other ex-agents to combat human trafficking in the country. The other ex-agents were part of the SEVEN SEASONS command battalion UP10TION - they left around two years ago, but Seonghwa left almost four years ago. He was working alone until they decided to join him. When I first joined, the UP10TION agents were really nice to me, like my older brothers,” Jongho smiled wistfully.</p><p>“Wait.” Hongjoong’s eyes widened. “When you first joined? As in, you joined more than two years ago?”</p><p>Jongho nodded. “Yeah. I was thirteen when I was recruited.”</p><p>“<em> What </em> ?” Hongjoong did a double-take. “You were <em> thirteen </em>?”</p><p>“It’s fine, really, don’t stress over it,” Jongho waved away Hongjoong’s furious expression, smiling calmly. “It’s not important right now. You need to go to Lagos and find Seonghwa. If you need anything, text this number,” He wrote a phone number down on a piece of paper and handed it to Hongjoong. “It’s my private number, so it won’t go through SEVEN SEASONS surveillance. Now go. Every second wasted is one step closer to Yeosang being dead.”</p><p>Hongjoong glared at the younger boy, but he eventually gave in, moving to stock up on weapons and shoving on a plain black leather jacket. “I’m going,” He warned, “But don’t think I’m letting that slide. When I get back, Eden is in for an <em> earful </em>.”</p><p>Then Hongjoong closed his eyes and teleported out of the training room, headed for Lagos.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0004"><h2>4. The Darker Side</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Yeosang wakes up in a holding cell of Wooyoung's. Seonghwa gets an unexpected visitor.</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>this chapter is a lot longer than the other ones and I hope that in the future I can write longer chapters... but I can't promise anything :(</p>
<p>anyway, it becomes clear in this chapter who has what abilities, and seonghwa finally comes into play! additionally, there are UP10TION characters in this chapter but if you don't know UP10TION it's alright, they won't play major roles in the story.</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>“Wake up.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Consciousness slowly slipped its way back into Yeosang, and he coughed and choked as he regained his senses. Looking around, he observed that he was in a dimly lit room, with a plain white bed on the side and dull black walls surrounding it. There were no windows - only a small light in the center of the ceiling allowed him to see anything at all. The walls and floor were pretty clean, but they were completely barren of any furniture apart from the bed. Over to the left wall, Yeosang noticed a simple wooden door with the sign ‘BATHROOM’ on it, and in front of him, there was another larger, metal door labelled ‘EXIT’. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Oh, and of course, Yeosang noticed that he was tied to a chair with silver chains.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“This is comfortable,” He commented nonchalantly as he looked up at Wooyoung, who was standing in front of him. “I take it these chains are enchanted?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Wooyoung rolled his eyes. “Do I look like an idiot? Of course they’re enchanted, dumbass.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>In retrospect, Yeosang figured that that wasn’t a very suave line to open the conversation with. So much for first impressions.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Where am I?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“You’re in a holding cell in another hideout of my gang’s, ATZ '99. The one at the bar is still operational, but we’re going to lay low for a while before going back there.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Where are Hongjoong and Jongho?” Yeosang demanded. Wooyoung shrugged in response, giving Yeosang a ‘who knows?’ look. “You saw them leave, didn’t you? I didn’t go after them after that. I’m not </span>
  <em>
    <span>that </span>
  </em>
  <span>desperate to get my hands on superhero blood.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>So Hongjoong and Jongho were safe. Yeosang breathed out a sigh of relief, grateful that his friends had been able to escape. Then he remembered one more person who had escaped that night.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“The shadow man,” Yeosang murmured. “He’s your brother?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Wooyoung visibly stiffened, his expression becoming more guarded and angry. He pressed his lips together tightly, hesitating before he spoke again. “Yes, he’s my brother,” He growled, his voice laced with hatred. “It doesn’t mean anything.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Yeosang raised an eyebrow, surprised at Wooyoung’s furious reaction. “Why do you hate him?” Yeosang asked slowly. “Did he do something?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Wooyoung’s laugh was completely devoid of any warmth or cheerfulness. “Oh, yes, he certainly did.” Yeosang opened his mouth to inquire further about it, but he shut it quickly when Wooyoung’s smirk dropped from his face. “It’s none of your business, anyway,” He quipped in a warning tone.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Then what is?” Yeosang pressed further. Wooyoung looked slightly irked, but he entertained the superhero nevertheless.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“You mean, what information </span>
  <em>
    <span>can </span>
  </em>
  <span>I share with you?” Wooyoung asked warily, and Yeosang nodded. “It doesn’t have to be personal, like your brother,” Yeosang added calmly. “Maybe you could tell me about your team? It would be nice to know who I was captured by.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Wooyoung hesitated for a second, as if he were considering it, but he eventually shrugged and nodded amiably. “I suppose that’s fair, but I’d like you to answer one of my questions first.” He moved to sit on the bed beside Yeosang (which would have been painstakingly awkward, if it weren’t for the fact that there was no other place to sit down in Yeosang’s cell). “Your friend, the psychokinetic. He can read multiple minds in one go, but it still took him a while to find me in that bar. Why?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Yeosang sighed. “You and your friends were already aware that he would try to read your mind. You were on guard. He can’t read minds of people who are expecting it - or at least, it’s a lot more difficult.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Wooyoung nodded. “Well, that’s great news,” He said cheerfully. “Now, about my team. Where would you like to start?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Your aerokinetic,” Yeosang answered immediately. He had, after all, been the one to injure Hongjoong. “Who is he?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“His name is San,” Wooyoung explained. “He’s my closest friend on this team. Well, we did try dating for a bit, but we eventually called it off…” When Yeosang gave him a judgemental look, Wooyoung rolled his eyes. “It’s not as weird as you think. Even though I technically met Yunho first, I spent my first few years on the streets with just San.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Yeosang narrowed his eyes in confusion. “Explain.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Though the other looked annoyed, he still answered Yeosang’s questions, which surprised him. It wasn’t every day that a supervillain held conversation with you, after all.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I… I almost died,” Wooyoung said carefully. “I would’ve died if it hadn’t been for Yunho and San. I was lying on the street, bleeding out slowly. Then San found me, and he brought me to Yunho, who had healing abilities. At first, Yunho didn’t want to help me because I was… I was dangerous, let’s say. Having pyrokinesis makes you a pretty formidable power. Besides, at the time I was basically the leader of one of the biggest gangs in the illegal weapons trade. Yunho didn’t trust me.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Yeosang nodded, keeping quiet and gesturing for Wooyoung to continue.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“But San begged him to save me. San had some… I don’t know, he had some weird faith in me. He told me it was because I was also enhanced. It’s very rare to find other enhanced - the fact that SEVEN SEASONS haven’t set out more than two ‘superheroes’ shows that the world is lacking in enhanced persons,” Wooyoung commented, giving Yeosang a pointed look. “Anyway, Yunho eventually gave in and agreed to cure me. He and San… they saved my life.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Wooyoung bit his lip, his strong demeanour dissipating as he recalled the memories. “San, Yunho and Mingi - he’s the geokinetic, by the way - were fifteen, they were living on the streets. At first, Mingi and Yunho didn’t trust me and they didn’t want to take me in. So San stuck with me on his own, and we stayed together, fighting for survival. For the first few months, it was just San and I. He was the only person who trusted me and who I could trust. Surely you can understand why I might have… been </span>
  <em>
    <span>attracted</span>
  </em>
  <span> to him at some point.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Yeosang shrugged in agreement. “That’s understandable.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Anyway,” Wooyoung continued, “I was desperate to destroy SEVEN SEASONS and my brother. I went searching and I found this gang, </span>
  <em>
    <span>Journey</span>
  </em>
  <span>. They had everything. Technology, weaponry, money… I realised that this gang was the means by which I could actually destroy SEVEN SEASONS. I introduced San, Yunho and Mingi to it, and they eventually agreed to it after seeing how much I made every month. Eventually, we earned enough money to send ourselves to university. Believe it or not, San wants to be a pilot, Mingi wants to be a biologist and Yunho wants to be a doctor. Once we graduate, and once the mission is over, I hope they can return to normal life and fulfil these dreams.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“How did you get them to agree to your plans, instead of just carrying out regular gang missions?” Yeosang asked curiously. Wooyoung smirked at that. “Well, you have to remember that San, Yunho and Mingi are enhanced. Once an enhanced person turns eighteen, their powers grow almost exponentially, because they are now considered an ‘adult’. All of them were struggling to control their powers. They needed help. I offered them that,” Wooyoung flicked his fingers and a small flame appeared in his palm. “Unlike them, I had learned to control my powers from a young age. I promised them that I could teach them to do that, as long as they helped me.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I thought Yunho and Mingi didn’t trust you,” Yeosang said in a confused voice.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“At first they didn’t,” Wooyoung admitted. “But there was this one time, Yunho got sick with simple influenza.” Wooyoung’s face darkened as he spoke. “None of us knew how he got it - his powers usually prevented him from getting sick. But there he was, suffering from a high fever and unable to walk, and he couldn’t cure himself. I… it’s a long story, but I found a way to cure him.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“How?” Yeosang asked, genuinely intrigued. “Considering that I’ll probably be here for a long time, I’m all for long stories.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Wooyoung looked hesitant. “Well… let’s just say that I had a suspicion as to why he might have gotten sick. I acted on that suspicion, and I was right. Yunho and Mingi found out about it, and they were very thankful for it. So they ended up trusting me.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Did you have other missions apart from destroying SEVEN SEASONS? Or has all your work here just been to reach that goal?” Yeosang looked rather suspicious, knowing that a gang member couldn’t possibly have not been involved in any dirty work.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Wooyoung rolled his eyes, bored. “Yeah, there were typical gang missions here and there. Assassinate this guy. Take down a rival gang. Investigate and gather intelligence for this rich CEO who will pay us well. Nothing too extreme, I can assure you. It was all just to earn money and to become stronger. Eventually, with this money, we were able to develop our own faction in the gang, and set up headquarters and everything. It’s not permanent, though,” Wooyoung added quickly. “Once we destroy SEVEN SEASONS and kill my brother, that’ll be it for us. We’ll go back to living a normal life. San, Mingi and Yunho can go get the jobs that they want.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Yeosang gave him a wry smile. “That’s a nice sentiment. You, probably the most powerful villain in the world right now, are soft for your best buddies.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>To Yeosang’s surprise, Wooyoung didn’t protest against or refute that statement. Instead, he merely shrugged, nodding in agreement. “You’re right, I am soft for them. Don’t get me wrong, I certainly want to burn SEVEN SEASONS to the ground for what they’ve done, but just because I have murderous tendencies, doesn’t mean I’m a lone wolf. There are a handful of people that I trust, just like you have people you trust.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Yeosang gave him an odd look. “You know,” He drawled, “If you were going for the ‘villain-turned-victim’ kind of personality, I think you kind of missed the point.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I’m not planning on playing victim anytime soon,” Wooyoung replied sharply. “But I’m not like your fairytale villains. I’m not </span>
  <em>
    <span>alone</span>
  </em>
  <span>. I have people by my side, and I won’t hesitate to kill you or </span>
  <em>
    <span>anyone </span>
  </em>
  <span>in order to protect them.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Yeosang scoffed, a disbelieving smile growing on his face. “Look, if you’re trying to get me to pity you, it’s not working. You tortured that kid last night. He hadn’t even attacked you or anything and he was </span>
  <em>
    <span>sixteen</span>
  </em>
  <span>.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I’ll admit, that was a pretty dick move on my part,” Wooyoung conceded apologetically. “But you never know. I thought he was another enhanced like you.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“He </span>
  <em>
    <span>looked </span>
  </em>
  <span>like a kid!”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“So?” Wooyoung looked genuinely unconcerned about the fact that he attacked a kid, which pissed Yeosang off. “I was ten years old when I joined my parents’ gang. My brother was twelve.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I -” Yeosang was about to protest, but he stopped himself when he saw Wooyoung’s expression. The other did not look to be rude or angry - rather, he seemed oblivious to the severity of the situation, like he actually believed that child and teenage involvement in this kind of violence was normal. That was when Yeosang realised that it probably </span>
  <em>
    <span>had </span>
  </em>
  <span>been normal for Wooyoung at the time. Wherever he had grown up, he was probably used to it.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I’m sorry you had to go through that,” Yeosang murmured softly. “SEVEN SEASONS never should have sent the kid on this mission anyway. It’s not your fault.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Wooyoung pulled a face, rolling his eyes at the other. “I don’t want your pity,” He retorted. Yeosang was not fazed by his sharp response. “I know,” Yeosang answered calmly. “But I don’t need your approval to express it.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Oh my - you know what, fuck you,” Wooyoung ran a hand through his hair in frustration and stood up from the bed, pacing around the room. “How are you so fucking calm in a situation like this? Everyone else we’ve captured either cries or spits profanities at us when we first speak to them. Why are you so… unbothered? Why are you being so </span>
  <em>
    <span>nice</span>
  </em>
  <span>?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Yeosang was surprised by Wooyoung’s outburst, but he kept his voice even nevertheless. “Perhaps it is the same reason why I was not fazed by your ridiculous attempts at flirting last night,” He replied smoothly.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Wooyoung scoffed. “Firstly, I am a master of seduction. Don’t belittle my abilities,” He ignored Yeosang’s disbelieving smirk. “Secondly, you have the emotional range of a rock. It’s impossible to read you anyway.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Why do you care?” Yeosang challenged. “Are you particularly interested in reading me?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Wooyoung laughed. “Like I said,” He tilted his head as he headed for the exit, a hint of a smirk growing on his face. “I’m not like your fairytale villains. I’m still human.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Then he exited the room, locking the door behind him and leaving Yeosang sitting there in a very confused state.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>-----</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“We’re approaching the drop-off point,” Hwanhee’s sharp voice rang out from the pilot’s cabin, resounding at an unforgivable level of loudness through the speakers in the aircraft. Seonghwa winced at the sound, grumbling as he put on his black mask and bulletproof leather jacket. “We have really got to fix the sound system around here,” He muttered to Jinhyuk, his right-hand man, who was standing next to him. The elder sighed. “Wooseok has been meaning to get around to it. He’ll fix it soon.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Well, if the two of you stopped fucking every time you were in a room together, then maybe it would have already been fixed,” Seonghwa chided teasingly, laughing when Jinhyuk flushed bright red.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“We do not -”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Don’t even bother trying to refute that,” Wooseok, the last member of their four-person team and resident technician/weapons expert, approached them and strapped on a weapons belt, loading it with several high-tech surveillance and defense gadgets that, frankly, neither Jinhyuk nor Seonghwa actually knew how to use. “You’re always so loud, anyway.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Babe!” Jinhyuk gasped in betrayal, which only earned him a smirk from Wooseok. “How could you?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Wooseok rolled his eyes, assembling a gun in record time as he did so.“Stop being such a drama queen.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Drop-off in T minus 15 seconds,” Hwanhee’s voice resonated throughout the aircraft once again. “15, 14…”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Alright, Jinhyuk, get your head out of your panicked gay clouds now,” Seonghwa ordered. “This is the biggest shot we have against this terrorist organisation. There have got to be at least four hundred captives down there.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“You know, I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, it would be so helpful if we could recruit Jongho once he’s eighteen,” Wooseok mentioned as the three of them walked to the drop-off shaft.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“When Jongho is eighteen, he’ll be going to </span>
  <em>
    <span>university </span>
  </em>
  <span>and getting a </span>
  <em>
    <span>stable, non-violent job</span>
  </em>
  <span>,” Jinhyuk answered firmly.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I would roll my eyes at you but Hwanhee said that if I roll my eyes too much, my eye sockets will literally eject my eyeballs out of them,” Wooseok sighed disappointedly. “It’s really a pity.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Speaking of Jongho, is he safe after that fiasco with Wooyoung last night?” Jinhyuk asked worriedly. Seonghwa nodded. “Don’t worry, I’m sure Kim Hongjoong has taken good care of him.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“5 seconds,” Hwanhee’s voice called out once again. Seonghwa, Jinhyuk and Wooseok immediately activated their hover boosters, hovering off the floor so as not to take any impact when they were dropped off at the location of the captive-filled trucks.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“3, 2, 1… ” Hwanhee finished his countdown as the shaft slowly opened up. “Give them hell.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Seonghwa, Jinhyuk and Wooseok immediately went hurtling down from the concealed aircraft, crossing their arms across their chests and staying rigidly still to ensure the smoothest landing. As they neared the trucks, Seonghwa could already sense the life forces of all the captives being held in the trucks. He clicked his fingers and small knives went flying out of his hand, each of them hitting one wheel per truck and causing the vehicles to skid to a stop.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The trio landed in the forested area near the beaten road. Wooseok’s hover-technology made their landing completely silent - not even a branch snapped under their feet when they reached the ground. The three of them snuck up to spy on the terrorists that were now exiting the trucks, checking to see what had happened to their wheels.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I make forty hostiles. Two per truck - one driver and one in the back with a gun. The van in the front has another eight of them, probably the leaders.” Seonghwa whispered to the other two. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Each truck has twenty-five captives,” Wooseok replied, typing something onto the phone-like tablet strapped around his wrist. “There are sixteen trucks in total. They’ve come from different directions but merged onto this road. The location of the detainment camps are only ten miles away. I’ve just cut off their communications, but you cannot let anyone get away or else they will be able to alert the other members back at the camps. We won’t be able to drive the captives back to the city in time if the terrorists send back-up.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Do we kill all the hostiles, then?” Jinhyuk asked. “Seems harsh.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“We don’t have a choice,” Hwanhee’s voice rang out from their in-ear transceivers. “Most of the hostiles have family or friends that are working in the organisation as well. If you let them go free, they’ll end up going back to the organisation and informing them about us.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Seonghwa sighed. He didn’t appreciate killing all of those terrorist members, especially because many of them had just been blackmailed or forced into joining the organisation. Unfortunately, in order to ensure that their missions went smoothly without the organisations knowing about them, they had to keep their existence a secret. Sure, there were agencies that knew about them (namely, SEVEN SEASONS, because those fuckers couldn’t keep their noses out of everyone’s business), but they were unknown to illegal underground operations across the globe. That was all that they needed.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>In front of them, the terrorists were beginning to move into the forest, searching for people who might have attacked them from there. The trio couldn’t hide for much longer.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Alright, you guys know the drill. Split up. I’ll take the front six trucks. Jinhyuk, you take the back trucks. Wooseok, you’re in the middle.” Seonghwa ordered, clicking his fingers. Almost instantaneously, two shotguns appeared in his hands and he cocked and loaded them quickly. “Let’s go.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Seonghwa flicked his hand towards the terrorists approaching them and small, sharp tranquilizer darts went flying out of his hand, each of them hitting a different terrorist member. He watched as they dropped down on the ground, unconscious, and the trio took their chance and sped through the trees at high speeds, splitting up to take over their assigned area. Thanks to Wooseok’s stealth clothing and tech, they were able to get within a few metres of the trucks without the terrorists noticing them. Seonghwa quickly shadow-travelled from his position behind a bush to behind the one of the trucks in front, hidden from the terrorists’ sight.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“What’s happening over there?” One of the drivers lifted his gun and pointed it in the general direction of the forested area. “Who’s there? Show yourself.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Seonghwa slowly snuck up to the driver, his finger ghosting the trigger of his gun. He used his magic to switch the load to poison darts, so as to keep the fighting as quiet as possible. Then he fired at three of his companions who were standing near them, the swift </span>
  <em>
    <span>woosh </span>
  </em>
  <span>of the three darts filling the air before they hit their targets straight on. The three hostiles gasped for air before dropping down onto the floor, their bodies writhing in pain for a few seconds before going completely still. Seonghwa made a mental note to himself to develop a faster poison once this mission was over.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The driver immediately whirled around, his fingers moving to fire his gun, but he could barely blink before Seonghwa was slamming the butt of his own weapon against the man’s head, knocking him out in record time. Flicking his wrist, he sent a dagger flying straight into the driver’s heart, ensuring that the man would not wake up and alert the others back at the terrorist base.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Thirty-six hostiles,” Seonghwa muttered into his earpiece, before aiming his gun at two more men approaching him and firing twice. “Thirty-four.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Thirty,” Wooseok’s voice rang out. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Twenty-seven,” Jinhyuk added.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Seonghwa, the van in front with the leaders. They replaced that wheel in record time. They’re getting away,” Hwanhee warned worriedly. “I’ll try shooting at hostiles from here in the air. You need to get to that van.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Shit,” Seonghwa groaned as he quickly ducked to avoid a gunshot before swiping at another terrorist’s legs with a sharp knife, sending him falling to the floor in agony. Before the other could fire at him again, however, Seonghwa had already buried the knife to its hilt in the man’s chest. He raised his hand and pointed at five men approaching him, sending five more knives flying out of his fingertips and taking out the men in no time.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Twenty-one,” Seonghwa called into his transceiver. “I’m going after the leaders. Wooseok, get to the front.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“On it.” From where he was standing, Seonghwa could faintly see Wooseok’s figure running towards him. Giving the younger a thumbs-up, Seonghwa began to chase after the distant taillights of the leaders’ van. He pointed at the wheel again and another dart went flying towards it, but unfortunately, the van swerved sharply to the right side of the road and the dart missed.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Seonghwa flicked his wrists, manipulating the darkness around him and creating a thruster-like black mass at his feet which sent him hurtling towards the van at an incredible speed. He landed on the van’s roof with a loud </span>
  <em>
    <span>thud</span>
  </em>
  <span>, throwing a knife at the hood of the car. Upon seeing it sink hilt-deep into the motor, he grinned to himself triumphantly.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>There was a horrible sputtering sound, then the car came to a halt, the motor failing to function properly thanks to Seonghwa’s knife. Seonghwa quickly rolled off the roof, creating a shield of shadows in order to protect himself from the hail of bullets being rained upon him.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The good thing was that all eight leaders were there in the van, which meant that none of them had gotten away. Unfortunately, they were all slightly more capable than the other members Seonghwa had taken down, and they were much more sufficiently armed.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Before the men could even get out of the vehicle, Seonghwa pointed his finger at the van and a sharp blast of shadows slammed into it, exploding upon contact and sending the eight men flying into the air. Without missing a beat, Seonghwa fired his gun at four leaders who were particularly close together and shot them all before they touched the ground. When they did fall down, he was pleased to see that his bullets had hit them all right in the middle of their foreheads - not a single shot was off-target.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The other four men had gotten onto their feet, so Seonghwa shot sharp shadows at all four of them. One got hit straight in the chest, which finished him off pretty quickly, but the other three ducked and rolled, avoiding the spikes with an acceptable level of grace.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>One of the three terrorists left standing ran over to Seonghwa, raising a sharp knife in his hand. Seonghwa quickly dodged to the right to avoid getting skewered, rolling over while reaching out with his leg and kicking the man’s shins. The man collapsed in pain and Seonghwa pounced on his opportunity, putting a bullet through the man’s skull before he could even blink.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“We’re all clear back here, Seonghwa,” Wooseok’s voice resonated from his in-ear. Seonghwa sighed as he placed a sharp kick into the second terrorist’s diaphragm, pummeling him with punches. “Almost done,” Seonghwa replied calmly, jumping into the air and flipping over the terrorist to corner the man between himself and the truck. The man raised his gun to shoot at him but Seonghwa easily dodged the shot and buried a bullet into the man’s head.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He then flicked his fingers and shadows surrounded the last terrorist, raising him up into the air and choking him. The terrorist’s mask and hood slipped off to reveal slightly long, gray-blonde locks of scruffy hair, honey skin and obsidian-black eyes. Seonghwa recognised him almost immediately.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“What the fuck?” Seonghwa dropped him immediately, stalking over as the man curled into a ball on the floor, coughing and gasping for air. Raising his gun, Seonghwa pointed the barrel at the man’s head, his eyes narrowing angrily. The man’s expression morphed into one of shock and fear and he immediately raised his hands in surrender.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Whoa, whoa, whoa, put that thing down!” The man gulped as he scrambled to sit up. “I’m not against you!”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“What were you doing with those terrorists? Are you working for them? Answer me, Kim Hongjoong!” Seonghwa demanded, pushing the barrel of the gun against Hongjoong’s temple. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“How the fuck do you know my name?” Hongjoong cried out. Seonghwa rolled his eyes. “Your friend Yeosang shouted it in the middle of the bar, idiot. Ask a better question or I won’t hesitate to kill you.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Hongjoong stilled, no longer trying to get back on his feet. His breathing was laboured and his posture was relaxed and not hostile. He gave Seonghwa a calming look, his wide-eyed, innocent expression telling Seonghwa that he was not an enemy.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Look, I needed to find you. Jongho - the kid - found your file in SEVEN SEASONS database, that’s how I knew you were in Lagos. I teleported here as soon as I found out. I read the minds of people around me and learned about this kidnapping. So I pretended to be one of them so I could be here when you came to save all these captives,” Hongjoong explained slowly. “I’m not with them. I just need your help.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>For a few seconds, Seonghwa did not move from his position, pondering over Hongjoong’s request. Finally, he retracted his gun, the weapon disappearing from his hand in a burst of black sparkles.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I’m all clear,” Seonghwa said slowly into his in-ear mic. “Wooseok, Jinhyuk, get all of the captives back to the city and make sure they find their way home. Hwanhee, tail them and make sure no one goes after them.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Aren’t you coming with us?” Wooseok asked, confused. Seonghwa gave Hongjoong a pointed look. “No, I…. there’s something I need to take care of first. Just check your phones, I’ll update you later.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Alright,” Jinhyuk sounded hesitant, but he was obedient nevertheless. Seonghwa was very thankful that his members didn’t pry much into Seonghwa’s actions.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Quickly, Seonghwa reached up to yank his transceiver out of his ear and shut it off, before turning to Hongjoong once again. “Okay, here’s the deal. Neither of us are going anywhere until you explain why you stalked me to Nigeria. By the time you’ve finished explaining, Jinhyuk, Wooseok and Hwanhee will be long gone. So, if I think that you’re going to get me or any of my crew killed, I won’t hesitate to put a bullet through your skull right here. No one would know better.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Hongjoong nodded. “Okay.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Good,” Seonghwa gave the other a tight-lipped smile. “Now talk.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I need you to help me stop Wooyoung,” Hongjoong blurted, barely letting the other finish. “I need you to come to America with me and fight him and get Yeosang back.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The air around them seemed to drop in temperature as Seonghwa’s expression darkened, but then he burst into incredulous, disbelieving laughter (which, frankly, hurt Hongjoong’s pride a little).</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Oh god, you really are stupid,” Seonghwa snickered. “I thought your psychokinetic abilities would at least include some intelligence enhancement. That’s clearly not the case.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The shorter man gave him an annoyed look, but his height really undermined the threatening aura he was going for. Seonghwa thought it was cute.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I’m not stupid!” Hongjoong protested angrily. “You could’ve torn Wooyoung apart in seconds back at that bar if they hadn’t captured Yeosang. Even their healer’s magic couldn’t hold out against you for long. Now my team is down to one sixteen-year-old non-enhanced agent and me, against </span>
  <em>
    <span>four </span>
  </em>
  <span>fully-enhanced adults. If you don’t help us, we’re done for.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Seonghwa rolled his eyes. “Why would I care about defeating Wooyoung?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The other looked positively livid, which, again, was pretty amusing. “Wooyoung has kidnapped Yeosang! He’s going to </span>
  <em>
    <span>kill </span>
  </em>
  <span>him - he’s going to use his powers to wreak havoc or something, he’s already killed a handful of SEVEN SEASONS agents -”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“He killed SEVEN SEASONS agents who were sticking their noses in other people’s business, namely his own,” Seonghwa interrupted Hongjoong in a dull voice. “And he isn’t going to wreak havoc on innocents, unlike what you believe. At least, that’s not his goal.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“And you know more about him than I do?” Hongjoong asked suspiciously.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“He’s my </span>
  <em>
    <span>brother</span>
  </em>
  <span>, in case you missed Wooyoung’s little nickname for me back at the bar,” Seonghwa kept his tone even, despite the fact that he was getting impatient. “Of course I know him better. Ever since our parents were killed by SEVEN SEASONS agents - it’s a long story, don’t ask about it,” He gave Hongjoong a warning look as he paused in between his explanation. “Ever since then, he’s only had one goal, which is the utter destruction of SEVEN SEASONS and of me. Personally, I have no qualms about letting SEVEN SEASONS burn to the ground. I would celebrate it, actually. And I know that Wooyoung can’t even touch me, let alone injure or kill me. So, I have no motivation to go help your friend.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Yeosang is innocent,” Hongjoong challenged. “You and your team, you protect innocent people. So protect Yeosang.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Even if I do want to help you, I would not willingly give myself up to SEVEN SEASONS. The minute I step foot in America, they will arrest or assassinate me,” Seonghwa reminded the younger man. Hongjoong frowned in confusion. “You could decimate the entire SEVEN SEASONS staff without breaking a sweat. How would they be able to arrest you?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Seonghwa exhaled in disbelief. “Okay, firstly, what the fuck,” He hissed. “Are you seriously suggesting that I kill thousands of agents just to ensure my freedom?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“You’re not answering the question,” Hongjoong pointed out.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I don’t intend to,” Seonghwa answered darkly. “That’s personal.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Hongjoong’s eyes narrowed and he squinted at the elder man, not speaking. Seonghwa immediately realised what he was doing, and his eyes widened in panic.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Don’t read my -”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Holy shit!” Hongjoong cried out as he crumbled to his knees, gasping and massaging his temples in pain. His body was trembling and it looked like he might pass out from exhaustion.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“- mind.” Seonghwa sighed. “Well, I did warn you.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“What the fuck is wrong with your mind? I…” The younger man’s breathing was laboured and heavy, and his eyes were filled with horror when he looked up to meet Seonghwa’s gaze. “I tried reading it and…it’s… it’s so dark in there, and there were spikes and sharp edges like glass… I heard screaming, like someone was getting tortured… my head is splitting,” He gasped. “Fuck, it hurts so much.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Seonghwa bent down to get to eye-level with Hongjoong, reaching forward gently to press a hand into Hongjoong’s locks. The other tensed visibly, but then black sparkles surrounded Seonghwa’s hand and rose up from inside Hongjoong’s head, retreating down Seonghwa’s arm until they disappeared at Seonghwa’s heart. From the way in which Hongjoong’s expression relaxed, Seonghwa knew that he no longer felt the pain.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Allow me to explain my abilities in a little more detail,” Seonghwa said kindly. “I do not have ‘death magic’, like most people assume. These powers are not a separate part of me - I am not ‘human’ and ‘necromancy’ added together. The same goes for all necromancers. We are the </span>
  <em>
    <span>embodiment </span>
  </em>
  <span>of death itself. We host the spirit of Death inside us. Yes, we are born through natural processes, but the spirit of Death chooses us as its host. Once it does so, we are no longer ‘human’.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Seonghwa extended his arm towards Hongjoong, baring the inner side of his wrist to the younger man. “Try to feel my pulse.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Hongjoong frowned, confused, but he eventually reached forward and placed two fingers on Seonghwa’s wrist, pressing down to feel his pulse. His expression morphed into one of utter shock when he felt nothing, not even the faintest movements of blood.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“There’s no pulse,” He whispered in amazement. “You don’t have a pulse.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Neither do I have a heartbeat,” Seonghwa said with a hint of a smile on his face. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Hongjoong was in awe. “Why?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Have you ever come across the concept that ‘nothing is immortal except for mortality?’” Seonghwa asked. When Hongjoong stared dumbly at him, he decided to explain it further. “The point is, everything has an end. Nothing is truly ‘infinite’. Every living being will die, eventually. This Earth will be destroyed or swallowed by a black hole at some point in the future. The universe will end someday, and a new one will be there to replace it. So the only thing that really lasts forever is the fact that everything has an end. The only thing that we know will always apply to everything is Death. Death is eternal. As the embodiment of Death, I am therefore eternal. I cannot die. You could stab me, poison me, cover me in bullet wounds and I would not be fazed. The wounds would heal within seconds.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“And your mind?” Hongjoong asked. Seonghwa sighed. “That is the downside of being a necromancer. Along with the attributes and abilities that I receive, there’s a whole lot of darkness that comes with it. Many necromancers are not strong enough to fight against that darkness, and they succumb to it. They become dark matter, they become shadows, they cease to exist. It is impossible to fight, but I choose to cooperate with it instead. The darkness and my consciousness, they work hand-in-hand. The side of me that kills people without hesitation is the darkness inside me, doing its part and exercising its power. However, the side of me that chooses to protect the innocent and kill the guilty is me, my consciousness, keeping the darkness in check. What you saw in my head was that darkness, which is too painful and agonising for you to endure. Therefore, you were unable to push past that and into my thoughts. Many necromancers are too weak to kill and murder, therefore they are unable to control the darkness inside them and it destroys them out of anger. On the other hand, some necromancers are too bloodthirsty and evil. The darkness inside them gets out of control and they self-destruct, succumbing to shadows. It’s a cruel way of maintaining balance within the universe.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Hongjoong stared at him for a few moments, not speaking. Finally, he said: “Ouch.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Your eloquence astounds me,” Seonghwa answered dryly. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Sorry.” The younger man had the humility to look sheepish. “Just… wow. That must be horrible for you.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Seonghwa shrugged, smiling gently. “It’s alright. I can’t really complain, because I’ve only been alive for twenty-three years. I have a long way to go before ‘immortality’ really becomes useful. There are a couple of necromancers who have lived for more than a thousand years. They are the ones who have really endured all the pain.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Twenty-three years old, but you know so much about your power and you have so much control over it.” Hongjoong sounded impressed, which pleased Seonghwa. “All the more reason why we need your help.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The elder rolled his eyes in annoyance, plopping down to sit cross-legged on the floor. “Alright, I’ll entertain you for now. Let’s look at the odds here, okay? There’s another attack from this organisation that is going to occur in Abuja in a week. My guess is that at least two hundred people will be captured. Now, if I stay here, I will be able to save these two hundred innocent citizens. If I go with you, I save one innocent man, your friend, and maybe thousands of killers and spies from SEVEN SEASONS who go shooting their guns to stop violence but don’t care what they leave behind. Convince me why the world stands to benefit more from me helping you.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“God, you sound like an AI,” Hongjoong muttered. “Listen, I don’t know what your deal is with SEVEN SEASONS, but I can assure you that not everyone there is as ruthless as you think. The safety of the world is their top priority.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I must remind you that SEVEN SEASONS ordered the assassination of my parents,” Seonghwa said in a bored voice. “Personally, I didn’t mourn for them. They were involved in a big gang working in the illegal weapons trade. They were abusive and cruel and didn’t care about me. When SEVEN SEASONS killed them, I thought Wooyoung and I would be picked up. I thought we would go to an orphanage in America or become foster kids. I thought they would take us out of that dumpster in Colombia that we were stuck in. I waited for days, weeks, months… but no one came.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Seonghwa laughed almost disbelievingly, his tone unbearably bitter. “They killed the bad guys, sure, but they also left behind my brother, who was only fifteen at the time, and I, to fend for ourselves in probably one of the most dangerous countries in the world. I know so many more people who were displaced and who lost their livelihoods to SEVEN SEASONS. Criminals or not, there are always innocent people who get affected.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Seonghwa watched as the younger man’s expression morphed into one of sadness and guilt. He did not look defensive - rather, he seemed more… accepting? It seemed like Hongjoong believed him and knew how wrong SEVEN SEASONS had been.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Look,” Hongjoong finally said after an agonisingly long time. “I know that SEVEN SEASONS needs to sort out their shit. Ever since they hired Jongho… when they sent him on the mission to find Wooyoung… he was </span>
  <em>
    <span>tortured</span>
  </em>
  <span>. He was in so much pain, and he couldn’t defend himself. That was when I knew that they were… brutal, I guess. But that doesn’t mean that everyone in the agency is a cruel murderer.” He gestured to himself vaguely. “Look at me. Look at Yeosang, look at Jongho. We’re </span>
  <em>
    <span>good </span>
  </em>
  <span>people. We just want to protect others. Look at your friends in your team - Wooseok, Jinhyuk and Hwanhee, right? Were they ever killers? Did they ever enjoy doing the dirty work that SEVEN SEASONS set for them?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Seonghwa froze, the younger’s words catching him off guard. Were his friends killers? </span>
  <em>
    <span>Of course not, </span>
  </em>
  <span>Seonghwa thought immediately. He knew that Wooseok, Jinhyuk and Hwanhee had left the agency only three years after being recruited because of the cruel missions they were being sent on. He himself had left for a similar reason.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Hongjoong seemed to gauge his thoughts and smiled. “See? There are good people in SEVEN SEASONS. Many of those agents are just working there to earn money for their families. Many of them don’t have a choice. Some are ex-gang members who don’t have a degree and who can’t get a stable job anywhere else. If you don’t help us stop Wooyoung, Wooyoung will kill them all - even the good people, even the people like you and your friends. You said you protect innocent people, so protect them.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Let’s go back to the comparison, shall we?” Seonghwa said sharply. “Let’s say that if I help you, I save maybe two thousand agents. Out of those two thousand, let’s say half of them actually have a heart. Now, in order to stop Wooyoung, you would need to smuggle me into America and hide me from SEVEN SEASONS. We don’t know when he plans to attack and we don’t know where he and his friends are right now. I’d say it would take at least three weeks to find him. In those three weeks, Wooseok, Jinhyuk, Hwanhee and I could probably save at least a thousand captives from terrorist attacks. The numbers are essentially the same. You still haven’t proven to me why I should help you and not stay here.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Because we need you.” Hongjoong answered smoothly. “Yes, you can stay here and save captives, but so can Wooseok, Jinhyuk, and Hwanhee. Many lower-level SEVEN SEASONS agents can do that. I read your friend Wooseok’s mind - he knows at least seven other agents whom he could recruit to help him. But with Wooyoung? Only </span>
  <em>
    <span>you </span>
  </em>
  <span>can help us stop him. No one else would stand a chance. We don’t need you because we need numbers or allies, we need you because it’s </span>
  <em>
    <span>you</span>
  </em>
  <span>, the only necromancer that SEVEN SEASONS has on its radar and the only person </span>
  <em>
    <span>I </span>
  </em>
  <span>know who is capable of stopping Wooyoung.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Seonghwa’s voice caught in his throat. He hadn’t expected an answer like that. Maybe Hongjoong wasn’t as stupid as Seonghwa thought he was.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Fine,” Seonghwa said, rather miffed. “You’ve motivated me. You still haven’t solved the problem about me being banned from the country.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Hongjoong pondered over this for a second, before speaking up once again. “Then we don’t need to go back to SEVEN SEASONS,” He said simply. “I won’t go back to their headquarters. I’ll hide with you and we’ll find Wooyoung on our own. I promise you I will get you in and out of the country safely and you will go on with your life as a free man after this mission is over.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Seonghwa raised an eyebrow, surprised. “You realise that you could be arrested, maybe even </span>
  <em>
    <span>executed </span>
  </em>
  <span>for treason, right?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Let them press charges after we save them and Yeosang from Wooyoung,” Hongjoong replied. “I’m not afraid to do what’s right.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The necromancer stared down at the brave superhero, incredulous. How was this man so </span>
  <em>
    <span>fearless</span>
  </em>
  <span>? How could he put everything on the line - his job, his home, his freedom - just to save people whom he barely knew? How could he stand in front of Seonghwa, probably the most dangerous enhanced on Earth, without even reaching for his gun once?</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Seonghwa had never felt that sense of heroism. Sure, he protected innocent people, but he only fought battles that he knew he could win. He hated to admit it, but Wooyoung’s healer, Yunho, was a threat to his power. He knew that Yunho’s abilities could probably kill him, or at least injure him. He was not sure if this was a battle that he would win.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>“Cure him.”</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>“Why should I? He’s just feeding your murderous tendencies.”</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>“He saved my fucking life!”</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>“That was his mistake.”</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>“He’s not a bad person, Seonghwa! He’s good. He’s kind. He just wants to heal people and protect them. He’s not bad. I am. You cannot punish anyone but me for my actions.”</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>“I am punishing you, through him.”</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>“Seonghwa, please. He’s my friend. He’s one of the only people I have left. I’ll do anything, I swear. I’ll let you kill me, right on this spot. Just spare him.”</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Seonghwa bit his lip as the memory flooded back into his mind. </span>
  <em>
    <span>He can still be saved</span>
  </em>
  <span>, he had told Jinhyuk later on. </span>
  <em>
    <span>My brother is still there</span>
  </em>
  <span>.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Alright,” Seonghwa sighed, nodding in reluctance. “I guess you’re in charge now, Kim Hongjoong. Where to next?”</span>
</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>thank you for reading! kudos and comments are always appreciated &lt;3</p>
<p>I know there aren't a lot of people reading this fic but for those that are reading it, would you prefer if I posted less often but with longer chapters (7000 words ish) or more often with shorter chapters (4000-5000 words)? Comment down below please :)</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0005"><h2>5. Still Human</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Wooyoung invites Yeosang to join him and his team in one-on-one training. Seonghwa and Hongjoong arrive at a safe house in NYC.</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>hope that this update wasn't too late :)) thank you to everyone who commented and left kudos! i really appreciate them and they encourage me to write more, so thank you so much!</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>Yeosang was going stir-crazy in the holding cell. At least he had been taken out of the chair, which was good. He’d probably have a huge cramp if he had been forced to sit there at all times.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Mingi, who apparently was the team’s technology expert, had set up a generator that caused the walls of the room to be charged with power-neutralising energy. Through this, the walls radiated the energy towards Yeosang and deactivated his abilities. Essentially, this meant that Yeosang was powerless in the holding cell.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Yeosang wasn’t sure how long he had been there. It had definitely been long enough that he’d actually started working out and practicing some kickboxing moves, which he never did unless SEVEN SEASONS forced him to. Hongjoong had always loved the training sessions that they went through, but Yeosang hated them. He had never seen the point in it - if they were fighting someone powerless, he would just have to conjure a few icicles to get them cornered. If they were fighting someone like Wooyoung, hand-to-hand combat skills would be useless anyway.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>So the fact that Yeosang had actually started </span>
  <em>
    <span>training </span>
  </em>
  <span>showed just how fucking restless he was.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Yeosang hadn’t kept track of how long he’d been training for, either. He had just kept going and going until he was so tired he felt like he might pass out. Then he had laid down for a while, just breathing, staring up at the ceiling with a blank mind.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>All of a sudden, the door to his cell slammed open and the aerokinetic - his name was San, wasn’t it? - stepped in. He was wearing a plain black t-shirt and black jogging pants, but there was kickboxing tape wrapped around his hands. Yeosang looked up at him from his position on the bed, raising an eyebrow in surprise.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Come on,” San jerked his head in the direction of the exit. “Mingi’s connected the power-neutralising generator to the training room. Wooyoung wants to see what you’re made of, or something like that.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“You realise that you guys won’t have powers either, right? So I can beat the shit out of you?” Yeosang pointed out. San merely smirked at him in a condescending way, like he was watching a tiger cub bare its fangs. “You’re cute. I can see why Wooyoung has taken an interest in you.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Yeosang almost choked, which made San laugh. “What do you mean?” Yeosang asked, his eyes narrowing. “Wooyoung hates me.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Oh please, if he hated you you’d already be dead,” San answered swiftly. “He doesn’t like keeping captives. You’re lucky you’ve been alive for three days.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>That caught Yeosang’s attention. He had been in the cell for three days? That was a surprisingly short amount of time, given that he’d already gone mental while waiting in that holding cell.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>San seemed to notice Yeosang’s surprise and he smiled apologetically. “Sorry about that. The cell is designed so that it’s literally impossible for the person inside to tell the time. It’s meant to weaken the prisoners - they either stay awake for ridiculously long amounts of time, or they sleep too often. The room is meant to strip the prisoner of pattern and routine - since they can’t tell the time of day, their sleep patterns become erratic and nonsensical. This deteriorates their health and makes them groggy and weak. We only ever use this cell for captives whom we can’t get information out of within a couple of hours. We used it on you because… well, you’re enhanced. This cell has the best defences against that, let’s say.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“It’s a surprisingly clean cell,” Yeosang noted. “I suppose you rarely keep captives for a long time?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>San shrugged. “We’re always able to get information out of our captives. The last captive we kept in here was Seonghwa, actually, but he… I don’t know if you know this,” The aerokinetic looked slightly concerned. “But Seonghwa is immortal. He does not need to eat, drink water, sleep… all of those are processes that the human body needs in order to prevent death. However, death is not an option for Seonghwa, so he doesn’t need those processes anymore. It kind of ruined the point of ‘weakening’ him since he didn’t need to sleep anyway. Besides, he broke out of the place within two days.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Yeosang snorted. “Man, it must really suck that Wooyoung wants to murder his immortal, invincible brother.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The other grinned at him, amused. “So you </span>
  <em>
    <span>do </span>
  </em>
  <span>have a sense of humour,” San murmured. “Wonderful.” He gestured at the door once more. “Come on, let’s go. I bet you’re already bored to death waiting here anyway.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Yeosang stood up and followed San out of the holding cell, getting a first sight of the facility outside of his cell. He was standing in a brightly lit hallway, the walls a plain white colour without any decorations on them. To the left, Yeosang could see a bit of what looked like a living room, with a plain blue carpet and several couches lying around the place. The facility looked like an average apartment - bright, simple and minimalistic. No one would ever suspect that it housed a gang of enhanced anarchists.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Surprised?” San smirked at him. “We’re not animals. It’s a nice atmosphere to be in.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“How many facilities have you got?” Yeosang asked curiously. “Wooyoung said that this isn’t the headquarters you have at the bar, so…”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>San shrugged, cocking his head back to think for a second. “We’re one faction of a bigger gang, </span>
  <em>
    <span>Journey, </span>
  </em>
  <span>so we share a lot of facilities. The one at the bar is officially ‘ours’. This facility belongs to another faction, </span>
  <em>
    <span>IZ*ONE, </span>
  </em>
  <span>but they’re off in LA for a kill mission and won’t be back until the end of the month, so we’re borrowing it.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The aerokinetic led Yeosang down to the right of the hallway, stopping right at the end where a plain white wall looked back at them. Then San pressed his hand against the wall and it lit up, sinking backwards and sliding to the left to reveal a huge room behind it.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Whoa,” Yeosang’s eyes widened as he stepped in. “Now </span>
  <em>
    <span>this </span>
  </em>
  <span>looks like a gang’s headquarters.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The room was gigantic - at least thrice the size of Eden’s office back at SEVEN SEASONS headquarters. The walls were painted a dusty beige and rows upon rows of weapons were hung up on them - there were swords, handguns, machine guns, crossbows, knives, discs, whips… Yeosang had never seen so many weapons in his life. In the centre of the room, a long table had been laid out with a red carpet on top of it. Over in the back, there were several dummies with targets on their foreheads and chests, the targets already littered with bullet holes. Finally, over on the left, there was a clothing rack with protective suits and gear hanging from it.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Wooyoung and two other men were standing at the right side of the table, Wooyoung toying with a large katana in his hand. When he caught sight of San and Yeosang, he grinned widely.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Ah, you’re here,” He said cheerfully. “This will be fun.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Yeosang frowned. “What are we doing?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Wooyoung twirled the katana in his hand, and his careless way of handling it nearly gave Yeosang a heart attack. The sword was literally </span>
  <em>
    <span>this close </span>
  </em>
  <span>to flying out of his grip and stabbing someone.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Since we’re going to be fighting your friend Hongjoong, I think it would be nice if the entire team got a little bit of practice fighting an enhanced,” Wooyoung explained calmly. “Mingi has lowered the generator’s energy output a little bit so you’ll be able to use your abilities to a small extent. Don’t try anything fatal, because it won’t work. You won’t be able to injure or kill us but you could probably send us flying back a few feet with enough force in your ice-blasts. Similarly, none of us will be able to injure you but we’ll be able to perform simple tricks, like levitating objects for San or creating vines for Mingi.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Yeosang folded his arms over his chest, defensive. “How will I be sure you won’t injure me? I am your captive, after all.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Wooyoung looked rather impatient. “Let’s put it this way,” He said, his tone still surprisingly even. “If we injure you, then you will have every right to fight back. You will have every right to use your abilities against us. Right now, we are trusting that you won’t try to injure any of us, so long as we do not injure you. We are fighting to disarm, not to injure or kill.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Yeosang hesitated for a few seconds. Really, Wooyoung confused him so much. He had been stuck in that cell for </span>
  <em>
    <span>three days, </span>
  </em>
  <span>and now Wooyoung wants to train with him? Yeosang hadn’t ever experienced this before, but he was pretty sure captives were not treated like this on average.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Still, San was right. He </span>
  <em>
    <span>was </span>
  </em>
  <span>going stir-crazy in that cell, and staying there wasn’t going to do him much good anyway. He might as well jump on an opportunity to figure out Wooyoung, San, Mingi and Yunho’s tactics, so that when the time did come, he’d be able to stop them. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I guess it can’t hurt,” Yeosang said reluctantly, flexing his fingers. He watched as Wooyoung grinned, a hint of a sinister gleam crossing his eyes. The pyrokinetic then pointed at San, gesturing for him to approach the long, red-carpeted table in the centre of the room.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“San, you duel him first,” Wooyoung said with a smirk on his face. “No weapons. Just use your abilities and whatever kickboxing skills you might have.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Yeosang gulped as he and San both stepped up onto the duelling table. He quickly observed the length and durability of the material - it was a very long table but it was quite narrow; jumping too far to the left or right would make him fall off, so he couldn’t dodge San’s attacks much. Yeosang figured that it was a cruelly clever way to maximise engagement in the duel. The wood used seemed pretty dense and strong; stomping one foot on it made a quiet sound, so it was thick and not hollow. That meant that jumping and flipping over San was probably safe enough to attempt, although San was taller than him, so he was at a disadvantage to do that anyway. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>So keep your distance, </span>
  </em>
  <span>Yeosang thought to himself. </span>
  <em>
    <span>Don’t let him get close enough to corner you at the end of the table. </span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The two took their positions at opposite ends of the table, Yeosang preparing a blast of ice in his palm. He noticed San’s fingers swirling with white light as well, and he knew that the other was preparing to hit him with his own aerokinetic abilities.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“On your marks,” Wooyoung’s voice called out from the side. Yeosang could almost </span>
  <em>
    <span>hear </span>
  </em>
  <span>the sickening sneer in his tone. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Get set,” Yeosang tensed, locking his gaze with San.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Go.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>San ran forward at lightning speed, trying to keep as much space behind him as possible. However, Yeosang had expected the aerokinetic to pull this move and he quickly slammed his hand down on the table, turning the surface to slippery ice. San tumbled and crashed onto his back as Yeosang kicked him away, sending him hurtling back towards the other side of the table. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>If it hadn’t been for San’s rapid-fire reflexes, he would’ve certainly toppled onto the floor, but the aerokinetic was fast enough to stand up and gain balanced seconds before falling off. He quickly stood up, using his levitating abilities to hover just above the icy surface and avoid slipping. Then, with a flick of his fingers, San manipulated the air and sent a gust of wind in Yeosang’s direction. Yeosang cried out as he was thrown into the air, rising at least ten feet before flopping stomach-first onto the ice-cold tabletop.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Yeosang gasped for air, winded from his fall. He raised his hand weakly, sending another blast of cold ice in San’s direction. However, San was faster and he levitated upwards, avoiding the ice with ease. Yeosang barely had time to stand up before San was beside him, holding him in an armlock.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>From the side, Yeosang could see Wooyoung rolling his eyes. “Well, I didn’t expect you to last very long. I knew you were too soft. Kim is always saving your ass in missions, anyway,” Wooyoung commented idly, turning away, and for some reason that pissed Yeosang off. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Yeosang was patient and hesitant to kill, yes, but that didn’t make him </span>
  <em>
    <span>weak</span>
  </em>
  <span>. That didn’t make him </span>
  <em>
    <span>useless</span>
  </em>
  <span>. Just because he preferred to talk things through instead of killing everyone in the room, it didn’t mean that he was unprepared. It didn’t mean that he was mediocre. He had trained everyday for almost three years in SEVEN SEASONS. He had put his blood, sweat and tears into becoming a strong superhero that could protect innocent people. He could take Wooyoung down on his own if he wanted to. Wooyoung had underestimated him because he had chosen to be calm and rational with the villain instead of becoming angry and frustrated over being captured. He would make Wooyoung regret that.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Adrenaline surged through Yeosang’s veins and he flipped around, fly-kicking San in the stomach. The other immediately dropped the armlock and retreated backwards, clutching his side in pain. Yeosang immediately jumped on his chance and sent an array of sharp icicles towards San, ready to corner him and hold him at knifepoint (or ice-point, in this case).</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Unfortunately, San was one second faster. He raised his hands and caught the icicles quickly, flipping them around and surrounding Yeosang with them, the sharp ends of the icicles only centimetres away from Yeosang’s face.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Yeosang’s eyes widened as the memory came crashing back down on him.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>Yeosang was fourteen years old. He was standing beside a hospital bed which his mother was lying on, her breaths coming out in soft, intermittent pants like she was gasping for air but too weak to do so. She had been diagnosed with cancer almost two years ago. The doctors had made it clear to them that she was incurable, that she had to get her affairs in order. She had prepared Yeosang for this so well - there shouldn’t have been anything shocking or unexpected that came out of her death.</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>That didn’t mean it hurt any less, though. </span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>“Yeosang.” Yeosang looked up at his mother, his vision blurred with tears. As they rolled down his cheeks, they morphed into diamonds of ice, scattering down onto the bedsheets and sparkling despite the dim light of the hospital.</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>Yeosang’s mother smiled softly, her hand slowly moving to cup Yeosang’s cheek. A few more ice diamonds rolled down onto her arm and she watched them fall with a serene look on her face.</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>“Even your tears are beautiful,” She whispered quietly. “My little ice prince.”</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>Yeosang’s crying intensified, waterfalls cascading down his face as he buried his head in his mother’s shoulder, enjoying her warmth for the last time.</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>“I don’t want you to go, Mom,” Yeosang sobbed. “Please don’t leave me.”</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>His mother smiled at him, her expression gentle and caring. “I will never leave you, my dear,” She said soothingly. “I’ll always be watching over you from up there. I will never stop looking after you.”</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>Yeosang gulped for air as he tried to control his tears. “I love you, Mom.”</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>“I love you, my ice prince.”</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>Then the monitor let out a loud, continuous beeping sound and his mother’s eyes became glassy, her body slowly losing its warmth and her chest falling completely still. Yeosang sobbed into her shoulder, clutching her closely and begging her to come back, even if he knew it was no use.</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>He cried out in despair as he fell to his knees, collapsing onto the ground. Around him, frost began to appear on the marble floor, the temperature of the entire room dropping and the hospital bed becoming covered in ice. He could not stop the freezing even if he wanted to. He could only sit there in a frozen stupor, the ice diamonds never ceasing to fall from his eyes.</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>Suddenly, several impeccably thin icicles appeared around him, pointing their sharp edges straight at him. There were at least seven pointed at his head, and another fifteen pointed around his body. Yeosang’s eyes widened as the icicles drew nearer and nearer, their sharp points coming closer and closer to him.</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>“No,” Yeosang whispered, gasping as he felt cold ice press against his head. “Please. No.”</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>Then the icicles pierced into his skin and he screamed.</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>The pain was indescribable. Yeosang had never had microsurgery before, but he wondered if this was what it was like without anaesthesia. It was like someone was stabbing him then twisting the knife around in the place, creating a bloody hole in his body and rubbing salt into the wound. Only it wasn’t just one wound - it was several of them, piercing him all over, as if the pain from one was not enough. To make matters worse, Yeosang realised that he was not dying. He was breathing normally and there was no sight of blood on him. He could only feel the pain.</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>The icicles dug deeper into his skin, some cutting clean through his skull and poking out the other side. Yeosang wailed in agony, his breath laboured and his throat going sore from the screaming. He clawed at the floor, his nails scraping against the marble with a horrible screeching sound as he tried to bear the pain. His entire body felt like it was on fire, burning him up from the inside, but at the same time he felt cold and empty, like his heart would stop beating at any moment and just freeze to ice.</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>“Help me,” He rasped out, tears rolling down his face out of fear, not sadness. “Someone, please help me!”</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>Out of the corner of his eye, Yeosang could see a man at the door. He caught sight of a long face with big eyes and long, blonde-streaked hair, staring at him with a mix of horror and melancholy on his face. Yeosang recognised the man immediately. He was Jaehyo, one of the members of Block B, an enhanced pyrokinetic.</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>“Mr Jaehyo!” Yeosang screamed as another icicle pierced his neck. “Mr Jaehyo, please help me!”</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>For a few seconds the man looked like he was about to step inside and help. But then his face turned fearful and he tensed up, backing away cautiously and not acknowledging Yeosang’s presence. Yeosang’s eyes widened as the man began to step away. </span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>“No, please!” Yeosang’s voice was hoarse from crying. “Please, don’t leave me here!”</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>Then Jaehyo turned on his heel and ran off, leaving Yeosang to be tortured by his own abilities.</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“No!” Yeosang screamed as he covered himself with his hands, trying to shield himself from the sharp icicles surrounding him. “No, please not again!” He held out his hand in front of him in a panic, not thinking straight out of pure terror. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Suddenly, a huge block of ice went shooting out of Yeosang’s hand and hit San right in the head, sending the aerokinetic toppling off the table and onto the floor. The icicles surrounding Yeosang immediately fell to the floor, and Yeosang cried out in relief, gasping for air as he clenched his hands against the sides of the table.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“</span>
  <em>
    <span>San</span>
  </em>
  <span>!” Wooyoung’s scream was sickening. Yeosang watched as the pyrokinetic ran over to his friend, putting a hand on his neck to check his pulse.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“He’s alive,” Wooyoung breathed out. “But he’s been knocked out.” He turned to Yunho, who was staring in shock at Yeosang. “Yunho!” Wooyoung barked, catching the healer’s attention. “Tend to San!”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Yunho nodded, rushing over to San and pressing his hand to his head, golden light beginning to flow out of his fingertips. Meanwhile, Wooyoung stalked up to Yeosang, a murderous look on his face.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“</span>
  <em>
    <span>You</span>
  </em>
  <span>,” He hissed angrily. “What the fuck did you do?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Yeosang shook his head helplessly, tears rolling down his cheeks. “I didn’t mean to,” He whimpered. “I’m sorry.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I don’t fucking care,” Wooyoung grabbed Yeosang by the collar and hauled him out of the weapons room and back into the holding cell. He yelled at Mingi to turn the generator on before taking a fistful of Yeosang’s hair and slamming his head against the cell wall.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Yeosang cried out in pain, unable to control his sobbing. “I lost control,” He gasped. “Please, Wooyoung, I didn’t mean to hurt San!”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“You could have </span>
  <em>
    <span>killed him</span>
  </em>
  <span>!” Wooyoung roared, shoving Yeosang down onto the floor. Yeosang tumbled onto his knees, going on all fours as he tried to catch his breath. Wooyoung stomped up towards him, his hand raised to strike. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I warned you, if you tried to injure any of us, we would pay it back,” His voice was devoid of any compassion, kindness, or pity. “You injured San. You almost killed my best friend. I’ll make you </span>
  <em>
    <span>wish </span>
  </em>
  <span>you were dead.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Yeosang winced and ducked his head, preparing for the impact of Wooyoung’s anger. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>It never came.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Wooyoung, no!” Yeosang opened his eyes to see Yunho wrapping his arms around Wooyoung, his grip firm as he held the struggling man back. “He couldn’t control it.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I don’t give a shit about whether or not he could control it!” Wooyoung screamed as he tried to push himself free. “He almost killed San!”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“But he didn’t,” Yunho answered firmly. “San only had a minor concussion. He’s already cured.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Yunho, let me </span>
  <em>
    <span>go</span>
  </em>
  <span>,” Wooyoung growled in a dark tone, but Yunho was not fazed at all. “Get out of here, Wooyoung,” Yunho said in a calm voice. “I will deal with him.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“But -”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Get </span>
  <em>
    <span>out</span>
  </em>
  <span>.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Wooyoung sent Yunho a furious glare, but he followed the healer’s orders, stalking out of the room in a huff and slamming the door behind him. Yeosang wept softly into his hands, curling into a ball on the floor as Yunho sat down in front of him.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Yeosang.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Yeosang wiped his tears from his eyes, shaking uncontrollably. “I’m sorry,” He whispered. “I really am sorry, I never meant to hurt San.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Yunho smiled at him. “I know,” He said gently. “It’s not your fault.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“No, it is,” Yeosang protested. “I lost control. I let my emotions get the better of me.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Yunho looked incredulous. “Yeosang,” He said almost disbelievingly, “I’m no psychologist, but that didn’t look like a reaction out of fear or sadness.” His voice slowed as he hesitated to continue. “Did… did you have a panic attack?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Yeosang shrugged, burying his head in his hands. “I don’t know what a panic attack is. I just…” He bit his lip. “I was reminded of a memory back when I was fourteen. It was terrifying. I still get nightmares about it today. At that point, my mind just shut down and my fear took over. I wasn’t thinking - I </span>
  <em>
    <span>couldn’t </span>
  </em>
  <span>think. The only thing going through my mind was ‘please don’t let it happen again.’”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Yunho nodded in understanding. “Well, that sounds like a panic attack to me, or a post-traumatic stress episode. It is not something you can control. You are not at fault.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Wooyoung doesn’t think that,” Yeosang muttered dejectedly. “He hates me even more than he did before.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>To Yeosang’s surprise, Yunho laughed, shaking his head in amusement. When Yeosang gave him a confused look, Yunho began to explain himself.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Wooyoung doesn’t hate you, Yeosang,” Yunho said kindly. “He could never hate you.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Yeosang stared at him. “Wooyoung nearly beat me up just now,” He said, puzzled. “How could he not hate me?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Wooyoung cares for his friends more than anything,” Yunho explained. “Especially San. He and San have been through a lot together. When he saw San passed out on the floor, he panicked. He freaked out and took out his fear on you. He didn’t mean to hurt you, he just lost control of himself. Much like you did, only on a less severe level.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Yeosang was dumbfounded. Wooyoung, not hating him? He hadn’t ever thought that was possible.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I know it seems like I’m lying,” Yunho said amiably. “But it’s true. He doesn’t dislike you. You interest him. He’s never met someone so… </span>
  <em>
    <span>good </span>
  </em>
  <span>before, I guess. Most of our captives are pretty corrupt, even if they work on the right side of the law. Most people are not so… law-abiding, let’s say.” The healer smirked slightly. “Back at the bar, when Wooyoung was flirting with you, you weren’t even fazed by his advances. That amazed him. He was taken by surprise. And you know, he always likes to say that SEVEN SEASONS are killer, murderers who don’t care what they leave behind. They killed his parents and left him an orphan when he was only fifteen, then his brother tried to kill him.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Yeosang froze, raising his eyes to stare at Yunho. “What?” He whispered. “Seonghwa tried to kill him?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Yunho shrugged. “Yeah. Don’t ask me why, it’s not my story to tell. Seonghwa stabbed him with his death magic. Wooyoung would have died if San hadn’t brought him to me.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“That’s horrible,” Yeosang breathed. “How could Seonghwa do that? He seemed… he seemed like he wanted to </span>
  <em>
    <span>protect </span>
  </em>
  <span>people. He protected Hongjoong and Jongho back at the bar.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Look, I don’t know the full story,” Yunho said, raising his hands in surrender. “The point is, Wooyoung has always seen your side of the law as cruel and careless. Then you come in here, patient and kind and attentive and not spitting profanities in his face. You are so calm, even when you’re being held captive by your enemies. You can imagine why Wooyoung is intrigued by you.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Yeosang gave the healer a wary look, but he did not protest. “I may be a superhero, but I hate Block B,” He said quietly. “I know that everyone is human, to some extent. Some people are villains only because of the pain that they have endured beforehand. So please tell Wooyoung that I am sorry. For San, and for Seonghwa.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Yunho’s expression was both thankful and pitying. “I will.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>-----</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“This way,” Hongjoong led Seonghwa down a back alley to the entrance of a small apartment complex with the sign ‘</span>
  <em>
    <span>Aurora Mansions</span>
  </em>
  <span>’ hanging above the front door. Hongjoong had texted Jongho right after reaching an agreement with Seonghwa, telling the younger agent to prepare a safe house with technology and weapons where they could not be tracked by SEVEN SEASONS. Then, the two had stayed in a hotel in Lagos for a night in order to give Jongho time to set up the safe house, before Hongjoong teleported the both of them to New York City.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I notice how you really went low-budget on me, Kim,” Seonghwa commented as he stared at the rather simple apartment complex. The building was only a few stories high, with plain white walls and rectangular windows on the east side of each apartment. It was hard to see the details of the building because it was nighttime, but there was definitely some paint peeling at the bottom edges of the structure. There was nothing fancy about it and it was quite mediocre, but Hongjoong knew it was the best place to lay low for now.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Relax, it’s not like there are bugs or rats inside,” Hongjoong replied calmly. “Jongho promised me, there’s been full extermination.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Seonghwa rolled his eyes but he did not complain further, reluctantly following the psychokinetic into the apartment complex. The lobby was not much better than the exterior; it was narrow with plain beige walls and an elevator right ahead of them. Over in the corner, there was a small desk where a security guard was dozing off, the bright glare of the television screen illuminating his old, tired features.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“He’s not exactly good security,” Hongjoong admitted, “But Jongho set up defences upstairs in the flat anyway. We’ll be staying on the top floor so we can have the best view of everything going on outside on the street, in case someone </span>
  <em>
    <span>does </span>
  </em>
  <span>track us down.” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Thankfully, Seonghwa did not look that bothered. He had wondered if the elder was picky about these kinds of mundane things, but at least Seonghwa wasn’t complaining too much about it. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Wait.” Seonghwa paused in his step, turning and walking towards the security guard’s desk. He pushed the guard off to the side and started typing furiously on the computer, the changing screen flickering a few times before it returned to its regular white light.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Hongjoong frowned as the elder walked back to him. “What did you do?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Seonghwa shrugged. “I just disabled the security cameras for the top floor, the elevator, the lobby and the entrance. I doubt that SEVEN SEASONS will be tracking the CCTV surveillance here but it can’t hurt to be extra careful.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Right.” Hongjoong nodded in agreement as the two approached the elevator, Hongjoong pressing the rather rusted metal button to open the elevator doors. The two stepped inside and Hongjoong once again pressed the button to go to the top floor of the complex, then the doors slammed shut in front of them with a rather loud </span>
  <em>
    <span>bang</span>
  </em>
  <span>.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Have you ever used this hideout before?” Seonghwa asked curiously as the lift went up. Hongjoong shook his head. “Kang - I mean, </span>
  <em>
    <span>Yeosang</span>
  </em>
  <span> - and I rarely use safe houses. We’ve never had to hide from the law, as you are probably aware of.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Seonghwa laughed. “Of course. Being superheroes, you can just blast and kill your way through everything, can’t you?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Hongjoong’s expression softened as he turned to meet the elder’s gaze. “That’s… that’s not what I meant,” He whispered softly, feeling slightly guilty. “We don’t mean to harm innocent people. Everything we do is to protect them.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Seonghwa rolled his eyes. “Tell that to the dead.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Hongjoong wanted to protest further, but the necromancer had a rather sour look on his face, like he did not want to speak further. Knowing better than to mess with an angry necromancer, Hongjoong kept quiet, watching the numbers at the top of the elevator rise until they read ‘13’ - the top floor. He was too afraid to look Seonghwa in the eye, let alone talk to him. He was afraid of seeing the disappointment in the elder’s face, as if Hongjoong was a naïve child who had done something wrong. He was afraid to see the anger and pain behind the elder’s calm and calculating eyes.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He was afraid because he knew Seonghwa was right.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>When Hongjoong and Seonghwa stepped into the flat at the far end of the hallway, they caught sight of Jongho sprawled across on one of the couches, snacking on a bag of Doritos. He jumped when he saw them, dropping the bag hastily on the table with an apologetic grin on his face.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Hi guys!” Jongho said cheerfully. “Mr Park, it’s a pleasure to meet you.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Seonghwa smirked in amusement. “You can call me Seonghwa, kid,” He replied good-naturedly. “I’m not </span>
  <em>
    <span>that </span>
  </em>
  <span>old.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Right,” Jongho smiled sheepishly when Hongjoong looked pointedly at the bag of chips on the couch. “Look, I don’t know if you guys are the ‘don’t eat in the room’ kind of people but I was </span>
  <em>
    <span>really </span>
  </em>
  <span>hungry and I remembered I had the chips in my backpack and I was </span>
  <em>
    <span>so </span>
  </em>
  <span>bored waiting for you guys so I really couldn’t help it and I promise I’ll clean the entire couch thrice -”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Relax,” Hongjoong laughed as he patted the younger boy on the head, ruffling his hair slightly. “You don’t have to clean it.” Then he eyed Seonghwa warily. “Unless you’re picky about this kind of stuff…”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Seonghwa shrugged. “It’s okay,” He said calmly, “I’ll probably clean this place myself anyway. I clean three times a day back at my headquarters with Wooseok, Hwanhee and Jinhyuk and it drives them crazy.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Jongho looked surprised, but he didn’t comment on it, turning to address Hongjoong instead. “I’ve taken this entire block completely off SEVEN SEASONS’ radar, so they won’t have any security cameras, secret mikes or any surveillance over a four-hundred meter radius of the area. You can walk to the supermarket a few buildings to the right to get any food that you need, but I already put a huge stash of food in the refrigerator here. There’s a gym across the street if either of you are desperate to exercise. I also rented out the room next to us, and all the weapons, gear and tech are in there. This room is under the name ‘</span>
  <em>
    <span>Lee Junyoung</span>
  </em>
  <span>’, but the other room is under the name ‘</span>
  <em>
    <span>Kim Minjae</span>
  </em>
  <span>’. The door to the other room has been bolted several times so it’ll be impossible to get in. Both rooms have hidden surveillance cameras at the top of the doorframe and sensors around the door, so they will be able to scan and identify anyone who is standing outside the doorway. The scanners are programmed to recognise you two and myself, but anyone other than us three will be shot down by a 48-hour tranquiliser dart. So I suggest that if you’re going to call any food-delivery guys, meet them downstairs in the lobby.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Then Jongho reached into his pocket and pulled out two iPhone 8’s, which he handed to Seonghwa and Hongjoong. “Use these phones to contact me. There aren’t any passwords on them now so you’ll need to set them up yourselves. Do me a favour - don’t use your birthdays,” He warned. “My number is already in the contact list, as well as my private email. All of our email addresses and phone numbers can be tracked by SEVEN SEASONS, but I’ve been able to disconnect these new addresses and numbers from the system. I won’t be bringing my private phone to SEVEN SEASONS headquarters, so you’ll only be able to contact me from six to eight in the morning and from eight to eleven in the evenings.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He then gestured to the hallway on the left side of the room. “The door at the far end will connect you to the room next to us. There are medical supplies there if anyone gets hurt, but try not to, because I doubt either of you are experienced in healthcare.” He eyed Seonghwa questioningly and the elder shrugged. “I’m alright at it. Broken bones or gashes, I know how to treat, but I can’t be certain about severe bullet wounds.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“We’ll stay out of trouble unless we’re sure that we can handle it,” Hongjoong reassured the younger boy. “Anything else?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Jongho nodded. “Yeah, about your rooms - look, this was the only place I could get on such late notice, so you two are going to have to share a bedroom. There are two single beds inside, so I suppose you could just stay in your half of the room and not talk if you guys aren’t comfortable with the whole arrangement…”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“It will be fine.” Both Hongjoong and Seonghwa both said that simultaneously, and Hongjoong looked up at the elder in surprise. He felt a blush rising up his cheeks but he shoved it down, noticing how the elder was very much not embarrassed and completely unbothered about it.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Jongho smirked at Hongjoong and for a few seconds Hongjoong was terrified that the younger boy would make a suggestive comment about it, but Jongho kept silent and continued on. “Great. You each have around seven sets of everyday clothes in there and three bulletproof jackets. Seonghwa, I wasn’t sure about your exact size so I got clothes that were pretty flexible, nothing too tight-fitting. I’m really sorry if they don’t fit,” He gave Seonghwa an apologetic look, but the elder brushed it off.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“It won’t be a problem, I can make do,” Seonghwa reassured him, smiling softly. “You’ve really put a lot of thought and detail into this. I’m impressed.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The younger boy seemed to </span>
  <em>
    <span>glow </span>
  </em>
  <span>under Seonghwa’s approval, and a wide smile appeared on his face. Hongjoong’s heart melted upon seeing it.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“If you guys don’t have any other questions, I’ll be on my way,” Jongho said happily. “I’m going to go home. By the way -” He addressed Hongjoong specifically. “I told Eden that you were also captured by Wooyoung, so he won’t question your absence.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Hongjoong frowned. “What are SEVEN SEASONS planning on doing now that both of their superheroes are gone?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Jongho shrugged. “So far? Nothing. They haven’t found any leads on Wooyoung, so they’re not organising a team yet. You’ve got plenty of time, believe me, the agency won’t be able to locate him. Wooyoung is too good.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Hongjoong felt a sense of relief and dread at the same time - he was glad that SEVEN SEASONS would not be dispatching another team to fight Wooyoung, since that team would </span>
  <em>
    <span>certainly </span>
  </em>
  <span>be massacred, but it worried him to know that the agency could not locate the pyrokinetic. SEVEN SEASONS was, after all, a very powerful agency. The fact that they couldn’t locate Wooyoung made Wooyoung an incredibly dangerous threat.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“We will locate Wooyoung on our own, do not worry,” Seonghwa said in a firm voice. “Thank you, Jongho. We’ll contact you once we get any leads on my brother.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Jongho nodded earnestly, then he walked over to the exit and opened the door to leave. “Good luck, guys!” He said in an encouraging tone, before he closed the door and left Seonghwa and Hongjoong on their own.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Seonghwa turned to Hongjoong, a rather amused look on his face. “He’s surprisingly skilled, for a sixteen-year old.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Hongjoong laughed, shaking his head as he walked over to the kitchen, which was directly to the left of the room. “There’s a reason why SEVEN SEASONS couldn’t wait until he was eighteen to recruit him, I suppose,” He commented. “I can’t believe they get kids involved in violence at such a young age.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I started at a much younger age than he did. He’s lucky,” Seonghwa pointed out as he approached the other in the kitchen. Hongjoong rolled his eyes, giving the elder a reprimanding look. “</span>
  <em>
    <span>Jongho </span>
  </em>
  <span>didn’t grow up in the drug capital of the world with gang members for parents.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Exactly why he’s lucky,” Seonghwa replied breezily, and Hongjoong decided to drop the subject, opening the refrigerator instead to look inside. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Jongho had certainly prepared a lot. The fridge was </span>
  <em>
    <span>packed </span>
  </em>
  <span>with fresh food - there were several types of fruits, a bunch of vegetables, around twenty packets of raw chicken, fifteen of pork and another ten of beef. The cheese cabinet was overflowing with cheeses and butter, and there were also about two dozen eggs stacked on the side and a handful of yoghurt cups. A few cartons of milk and orange juice were shoved into the back of the fridge as well.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Hongjoong shut the fridge and looked over at the shelves, where there were a few large plastic bags filled with uncooked rice and another few bags of uncooked pasta. A water filter and dispenser had been placed on the countertop, along with a boiler and rice cooker. The stove was empty but Hongjoong quickly found several differently-sized saucepans and cooking materials in the cabinet below the stove. There was even flour, icing sugar, baking powder, corn starch… it was as if Jongho expected them to be having five-course meals every single day. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Seonghwa stared at all of it in surprise. “Do you even know how to cook?” He asked bluntly. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Hongjoong flushed, his cheeks dusting pink as he looked down at his feet. “Well… not exactly,” He admitted sheepishly. “I didn’t tell Jongho. I never needed to cook - Yeosang always cooked for the two of us in our dorm at the university.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The elder laughed, not like his sarcastic and derogatory laughs but a genuine, bright, ebullient laugh, and it took Hongjoong’s breath away. For the first time since Hongjoong had met him, Seonghwa sounded </span>
  <em>
    <span>happy</span>
  </em>
  <span>, like he was actually enjoying being here and talking to Hongjoong. His smile was bright and his eyes were sparkling and he looked angelic with such a carefree expression on his face. It made Hongjoong’s heart do an acrobatic routine in his ribcage, and Hongjoong had to pinch himself to stop his blushing.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Don’t worry, I know how to cook,” Seonghwa said kindly, not noticing Hongjoong’s emotional situation. “Wooyoung always loved cooking when he was younger. I wasn’t interested at first, but he wouldn’t stop nagging me until I agreed to cook with him. What would you like to eat for dinner?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Hongjoong shrugged. “You can pick. I’m not choosy about food.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Well, I won’t be eating, so it is completely your choice,” Seonghwa answered matter-of-factly. Hongjoong frowned in confusion. “What do you mean, you won’t eat?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Eating is something that humans do in order to prevent death,” Seonghwa explained. “I cannot die. So, I have no reason to eat. I’ve never experienced hunger. That’s why I wasn’t interested in cooking in the first place.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Hongjoong was shocked, his jaw dropping open. “So you mean… you’ve </span>
  <em>
    <span>never </span>
  </em>
  <span>eaten food before?” He couldn’t imagine not </span>
  <em>
    <span>ever </span>
  </em>
  <span>eating. Food was… food. Who didn’t like food?</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Seonghwa rolled his eyes. “Of course I’ve eaten food before,” He sighed. “Just because I don’t need to eat, doesn’t mean I’m going to throw up if I do. I didn’t eat when I was living with my brother since we were already poor and we couldn’t waste food. Later on, when I started working with Wooseok, Hwanhee and Jinhyuk, I’d eat every now and then. Hwanhee’s cooking is excellent, after all.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Oh.” Hongjoong was significantly relieved. “Well, can you make something simple? Do you know how to make spicy tofu stew?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Seonghwa nodded. “Yeah, I can make it. I think Jongho left some frozen kimchi in the fridge, so I’ll heat that up as well. Go shower and change. I’ll have the stew ready within half an hour.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Hongjoong thanked the elder before heading off to the bedroom, picking out a simple white shirt and pyjama pants that Jongho had prepared for him. As he showered, the smell of tofu stew cooking wafted into the bathroom and filled the air with its homely aroma. For a few moments, it was like Hongjoong and Seonghwa were not there on a mission to stop an enhanced supervillain. It was not like they were there to save the world. It was just like they were there to hang out, to live a normal life where they wouldn’t ever have to worry about being shot down by gang members or being burned alive by a pyrokinetic. </span>
</p>
<p>It reminded Hongjoong that no matter his abilities or responsibilities, he was, ultimately, still human.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>seongjoong is so domestic i cant even.</p>
<p>i'll try to update according to schedule!</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0006"><h2>6. The Two Brothers</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>seonghwa explains to hongjoong what happened between him and wooyoung. wooyoung's conversation with yeosang does not go as planned.</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>thank you for 60 kudos :)</p><p>another 7k chapter yayyy. this chapter kind of gives us a deeper look into seonghwa and wooyoung's backstory, but i assure you there is much more to be revealed in later chapters :O</p><p>enjoy!</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Hongjoong awoke to the smell of fresh coffee being brewed and the sound of eggs being scrambled on a frying pan. He frowned, wondering who on Earth could be cooking right now, then he remembered. He was no longer in his house or in his dorm in SEVEN SEASONS. He was in a safe house with Seonghwa, a dangerous necromancer, trying to take down Seonghwa’s murderous younger brother.</p><p>Rubbing his eyes, Hongjoong looked around at the sofa couch where he had fallen asleep. His laptop was lying on the floor with the lid still open. There was an unfamiliar white blanket on top of him and a fluffy rainbow pillow under his head that he didn’t remember putting there. He was still dressed in the jeans and t-shirt that he had been wearing the day before, and - Hongjoong almost panicked when he realised it - the gun that he always kept under his pillow was gone.</p><p>“Seonghwa, where the fuck is my gun?” Hongjoong yelled at an unforgivably loud level. There was a sound of a pan flipping in the kitchen and a hiss of pain, coupled with a very obscene curse word.</p><p>“Jesus Christ, is that how you greet everyone first thing in the morning?” Seonghwa’s voice rang out from the kitchen, then Hongjoong caught sight of the taller man poking his head out through the kitchen doorway. He was wearing a plain grey shirt and a pair of black jogging pants, very casual clothing, but his hair was still as immaculate and smooth as it was last night - very much unlike the bedhead Hongjoong was probably sporting right now. The elder looked slightly irritated, shaking his hand which looked like it had been burned.</p><p>“You were searching through SEVEN SEASONS’ database for information last night. Then you blacked out on the couch. I didn’t want to wake you because you were sleeping like a rock,” Seonghwa explained patiently, blowing on his injured hand. “I figured you’d be cold, though, so I gave you that blanket and pillow. You didn’t have a gun around you to begin with.”</p><p>Hongjoong stilled, shocked. “What…”</p><p>Ever since he started training at SEVEN SEASONS, Hongjoong <em> always </em>slept with a gun under his pillow, even if he knew he was safe in the SEVEN SEASONS dorms. He had never actually needed to use it, but it was a comfort nevertheless. It was like those stuffed toys that little kids slept with to make them feel safe, only this time it was much more dangerous. </p><p>He had <em> never </em> forgotten to put it under his pillow. He had <em> never </em>blacked out while working before. Then suddenly Park Seonghwa walks into his life and he immediately forgets all his safety protocols in one night? What the hell had happened to him?</p><p>Seonghwa seemed to notice his distress and gave Hongjoong a concerned look. “You don’t have to worry about having a gun near you when you sleep,” He said reassuringly. “I don’t sleep, so I’ll be there to defend you if anything happens.”</p><p>Hongjoong laughed. “Yes, well, then you would have to assume that I trust you enough to protect me.”</p><p>The elder pursed his lips, his relaxed demeanour morphing into a more serious one. “Maybe you don’t trust me completely yet, because we’ve only just met a few days ago,” He said quietly. “But I would implore you to trust that I would protect you. I am not a villain. You are not like the other SEVEN SEASONS agents, as I have already said. I can clearly tell that you truly have the people’s safety in your best interests, and that you do not mean to hurt others. You are quite naïve, yes, and unaware of the destruction you leave behind, but ignorance is certainly not the worst crime.”</p><p>“Right.” Hongjoong rolled his eyes, running a hand through his hair to try and smoothen it out. “Well, that was a nice sentiment. I think the eggs you were cooking are burning, though.”</p><p>Seonghwa’s eyes widened and he cursed, rushing back into the kitchen in a panic. Hongjoong laughed at the scene, shaking his head as he went to the bathroom to freshen up.</p><p>Seonghwa had already laid out all the food once Hongjoong had finished showering and brushing his teeth. The younger was shocked as to how much Seonghwa had prepared. There were scrambled eggs, there was bacon, there were several orange slices, there was even a blueberry muffin that Seonghwa had baked himself.</p><p>“Seonghwa, you do realise that just serving eggs is enough, right?” Hongjoong asked incredulously, and the elder merely shrugged. “It is alright. Jongho stocked up on enough food to last two people throughout at least three weeks, but I will not eat, so you can certainly indulge yourself.”</p><p>Truly, the polite thing to do would be to insist that Seonghwa eat as well, but manners and logic were kind of thrown out the window when you were dealing with an immortal, invincible reincarnation of death.</p><p>“Uh… thanks, I guess,” Hongjoong stammered, not really sure what to say. He sat down at the table and Seonghwa sat across him, placing Hongjoong’s laptop on the table and opening the lid, typing in a password quickly. </p><p>Hongjoong stared at him. “How do you know my password?”</p><p>“Actually, I completely guessed. You really need a safer password than ‘password’.”</p><p>Hongjoong flushed, frowning in embarrassment. “I couldn’t think of any special word when I made it. Then I just never got around to changing it.”</p><p>Seonghwa smirked, his eyes not moving away from the screen. “Well, don’t change it yet. I still need to use this.”</p><p>Hongjoong decided to conveniently ignore the fact that Seonghwa had not actually asked permission to use it and just taken the laptop himself. It was better not to fixate on such petty issues right now, after all. Especially not when Seonghwa could kill him without blinking an eye.</p><p>“What are you doing?” Hongjoong asked curiously. </p><p>“Accessing every security camera in New York City,” Seonghwa said calmly, typing a few more commands into the laptop. “If we’re going to find your friend Yeosang, we’re going to need to figure out where Wooyoung’s bases are first.”</p><p>After chewing down a forkful of eggs, Hongjoong spoke up once again. “Is the bar one of their bases?”</p><p>The elder nodded. “Yes, Wooyoung frequents the bar a lot. I often pay him a small visit, just an hour or two. He does not see me, but I watch him.”</p><p>Hongjoong frowned. “Why?”</p><p>Seonghwa’s expression turned regretful. “I guess I just sleep better knowing that my brother’s alright, I suppose. I don’t stay there for very long each time, however, in case I get on SEVEN SEASONS’ radar.”</p><p>“Alright.” Setting his fork down on his plate, Hongjoong folded his arms over his chest and leaned back against his chair, looking pointedly at Seonghwa. “What is it with you and Wooyoung? Why does he hate you so much?”</p><p>Seonghwa smiled at him. “It’s a long story, and I don’t think you will like me very much after hearing it.”</p><p>Hongjoong raised an eyebrow. “All the more reason why I should hear it.”</p><p>The elder looked hesitant, but a piercing glance from Hongjoong seemed to make him comply. “Very well, then. I will tell you the entire story, but I must ask that you do not think wrongly of me afterwards.”</p><p>“That’s for me to decide, not you,” Hongjoong pointed out. Seonghwa’s mouth shut closed, and Hongjoong quickly backtracked, not wanting to lose Seonghwa’s interest. “But I promise I won’t think badly of you. You saved Jongho’s life. I am ever grateful for that.”</p><p>Seonghwa stared deadpan at the computer screen for a few seconds, the silence torturing Hongjoong. He secretly prayed that Seonghwa would not walk out on him right at that instant.</p><p>“Fine.” The elder sighed reluctantly. “Wooyoung and I are brothers, as you already know. Our parents were killed by SEVEN SEASONS agents when we were fifteen, as you also know. Our parents worked for a gang called <em> Aurora </em> , and they made Wooyoung and I train there since we were very young. As we got older, we became more and more involved in missions and management. When our parents died, the both of us put our blood, sweat and tears into our work with <em> Aurora </em> since we needed the money to survive.” Seonghwa splayed his fingers out and black sparkles danced between them. “The truth is, neither of us ever wanted to kill people. We’d constantly talk about how cruel it was, how immoral the missions were. We were only there to put food on our table and to avoid falling into poverty. With our powers, however, we were able to rise to the top of the gang extremely quickly, within less than a year. We were unstoppable. Anyone who tried to kill us was taken down swiftly and easily.”</p><p>“Pyrokinesis and necromancy are very destructive abilities,” Hongjoong murmured, and Seonghwa nodded. “Exactly. So before we even turned sixteen, we were already at the top of the gang and we had developed <em> Aurora </em>into a much more prosperous organisation than before.”</p><p>“So you two used to be gang leaders,” The younger echoed. </p><p>“Yes, that’s right.” Seonghwa looked rather regretful about it. “Anyway, a couple of weeks after I turned seventeen, I managed to move our entire operation to New York City, where we absorbed a couple of other, smaller gangs into <em> Aurora </em>. We were huge. We were incredibly influential in black markets all over the world, we were feared by everyone in the underground operations. SEVEN SEASONS searched for us for months, but they never even got a lead on us.”</p><p>“No wonder SEVEN SEASONS banned you from America,” Hongjoong muttered. “What made you stop? Why’d you turn yourself in?”</p><p>Seonghwa bit his lip and his face contorted with pain, as if he was remembering a depressing memory. “Originally, I was alright with it, because our gang had rules and morals. We only killed people if we absolutely needed to. We dealt in the illegal weapons trade, but we rarely took captives and murdered others. We didn’t need to - people were usually ready to comply with whatever we asked for.”</p><p>The elder fidgeted uncomfortably, unable to meet Hongjoong’s gaze. “Most of the people in our gang were just like Wooyoung and I - they were just trying to survive, to stay out of poverty. But Wooyoung started… changing. He became more and more bloodthirsty. He would kill our enemies with such ease and swiftness that I started to become wary of him. I told him less and less, I kept many secrets from him because I didn’t want him to murder any more people than we needed to. I thought I could help him, I thought he would grow out of it, so I waited. I was there for him all the time. I never left his side. I had his back. Then…” Seonghwa’s eyes sparkled with the hint of a tear and he coughed, closing his eyes to stop himself from crying. “One day, there was this member of <em> Aurora </em>who wanted control. Wooyoung didn’t want to let him take our spot as the leader of the gang. So he suggested that we kidnap the man’s eight-year-old son and threaten him in order to keep him under control.”</p><p>Hongjoong’s eyes widened in shock. “That’s awful.”</p><p>“Exactly.” Seonghwa looked devastated. “I had to stop him. I tried to reason with my brother but he would not listen. One night the arguing got particularly bad and I was so scared, I was terrified that he would try and kidnap the child on his own. I was terrified of the monster that he had become. I was terrified of what he might do in the future. So I hit him with a sharp shadow, it impaled his stomach. Then I kicked him out the window of our house. He fell thirty stories.”</p><p>The elder’s voice broke and he covered his face with his hands, shaking slightly as he continued to speak. “I knew he didn’t die. I didn’t sense his death, so I knew he was alive. I realised that a healer must have saved him, because no one else could cure that shadow injury I gave him. I should’ve searched for him and tried to take him down, but I couldn’t bring myself to do it. I spent hours each night crying because I missed him, I missed my little brother and I hated myself for injuring him. I had promised to protect him with my life and I broke that promise. I let go of the only family I had left.” </p><p>Seonghwa uncovered his face, and Hongjoong noticed that his cheeks were now streaked with tears. “I put a death curse on Yunho, their healer, because I was afraid that he might have the power to kill me. Since he was allied with Wooyoung, I could not run the risk. But Wooyoung came to me one night and begged me to save him - he offered his own life in exchange for Yunho. That was when I realised that my little brother, the Wooyoung who just wanted to survive and who shut his eyes when he saw blood, he was still in there. He could still be saved. So I cured Yunho.”</p><p>Hongjoong gave Seonghwa a pitying look, and he reached over the table to slowly wipe a tear off Seonghwa’s cheek. The elder tensed at the movement, but he did not pull away.</p><p>“Later on, I discontinued <em> Aurora </em>.” Seonghwa explained. “I made sure the members got stable jobs in SEVEN SEASONS. Most of them just wanted to earn money, so they were more than glad to operate on the right side of the law. The ones that were truly bad, SEVEN SEASONS locked them up.”</p><p>“And their condition was that you were banned from America,” Hongjoong finished. The elder nodded. “It wasn’t so bad. I liked the work that I did. I liked helping the little guy, dealing with regional issues instead of global ones. I visited Wooyoung because I missed him, but I got better. I became stronger. I stopped hating myself for losing him. And now, here we are.”</p><p>“That must have been so difficult for you,” Hongjoong murmured softly, continuing to wipe tears off Seonghwa’s face. “I’m so sorry.”</p><p>Seonghwa frowned at him. “You don’t hate me?” He whispered. “Even if I’m a murderer? Even if I tried to kill my own brother?”</p><p>Hongjoong shook his head vehemently, clasping Seonghwa’s hand. “You were just trying to protect an innocent child,” He said firmly. “You’re good, Seonghwa. You’re a good person.”</p><p>The elder looked up at him, his eyes still shining with tears. “Thank you,” He breathed in a barely audible voice. Hongjoong smiled back at him. “I promise you, I will do whatever I can to bring your brother back to you. We will bring him home.”</p><p>-----</p><p>“Wooyoung, you know you were wrong.” </p><p>Wooyoung rolled his eyes, folding his arms over his chest angrily as he glared at Yunho. “I don’t care. He almost killed San.”</p><p>“Believe me, I’m painfully aware of the fact,” Yunho answered firmly. When Wooyoung looked at him questioningly, Yunho scoffed at him. “Do you think you’re the only person in this group that cares for San? We’re a team, Wooyoung. I would give my life to save any of you. Seeing any of you hurt terrifies me.”</p><p>Wooyoung scoffed, shaking his head as he flopped down onto the couch in the facility’s living room. “I’m not <em> scared </em>of San getting hurt. I know he can defend himself. I’m just furious that someone would ever try to hurt him. I’m furious that Yeosang managed to hurt him.”</p><p>“Fear and anger are more closely related than you believe,” Yunho warned, but he did not push the subject further, not wanting to infuriate Wooyoung any more than he already had. Wooyoung was grateful for that.</p><p>To be honest, Wooyoung didn’t know how San, Mingi and Yunho put up with him. He was short-tempered, rude, blunt, and unreasonable almost all of the time. He was always bossing them around, even if he was the youngest in the group. He had tried to push people away at the start, but they had stuck around despite his asshole personality. </p><p>Wooyoung didn’t deserve them. Which was why he would do anything to make sure they would walk out of this whole spectacle alive and untouched.</p><p>
  <em> When Yunho fell sick with the flu, Wooyoung hadn’t left the elder boy’s side. He, San and Mingi had gathered around the bed that Yunho was lying on, only leaving to get food from the fridge or medicine from their supply cabinet and bring it to the room. </em>
</p><p>
  <em> “What are we going to do?” Mingi had whispered, horror-struck. “None of the flu medicines we have are working.” </em>
</p><p>
  <em> “I thought he never got sick,” San’s voice trembled as he spoke, and Wooyoung could see that he was on the verge of a breakdown. “How did this happen?” </em>
</p><p>
  <em> Wooyoung could not respond. He didn’t have the strength to. He could only sit there, watching in pain as Yunho’s healthy golden skin turned paler and paler, his body turning frail and weak from the illness. </em>
</p><p>
  <em> Then one night, while San and Mingi were asleep, Wooyoung had reached out to hold an ice pack to Yunho’s forehead. He was brushing away Yunho’s bangs when he noticed a small black spot on the skin beneath the elder’s bangs, like a small bug or something. Wooyoung knew that Yunho did not have a mole on his forehead, and when he tried to swipe it away, he realised that it was imprinted on his skin, certainly not a bug. Wooyoung squinted to get a better look at it, and almost dropped the ice pack on Yunho’s nose in shock. </em>
</p><p>
  <em> It was a miniscule black tattoo of a skull, hidden beneath Yunho’s brown locks. It was so tiny, no one would have been able to notice it unless they looked extremely carefully. Even if someone did see it, they would never suspect it. </em>
</p><p>
  <em> But Wooyoung knew what it was. He had seen that symbol too many times in his childhood. </em>
</p><p>
  <em> His eyes narrowed and Wooyoung saw red. </em>
</p><p>
  <em> Within five minutes, Wooyoung had strapped on the deadliest weapons his team had access to, shoving on a black mask over his face to hide his features. Only one person would see his face tonight, and he would ensure that that person did not live to see the next sunrise. </em>
</p><p>
  <em> Wooyoung hadn’t even walked five steps out of the facility before he saw him. Tall, blonde-haired, with piercing dark gray eyes, his brother was leaning against the wall of a building across the street, staring at him with an impassive expression on his face. </em>
</p><p>
  <em> “How did you find us?” Wooyoung hissed, his hand moving to the knife in his belt. Seonghwa raised an eyebrow, looking pointedly at the knife that Wooyoung was reaching for. In the blink of an eye, the knife dissipated into black ash. </em>
</p><p>
  <em> “I knew you were here. You were so happy when our gang moved to NYC. Even if I threw you out, I was sure you wouldn’t return to that dumpster of a home in Colombia,” Seonghwa explained easily. “And we revoked your fake ID. You’d never make it past airport security.” </em>
</p><p>
  <em> “Because I’m supposed to be dead,” Wooyoung retorted. “You tried to kill me. You tried to kill your own brother.” </em>
</p><p>
  <em> Seonghwa rolled his eyes. “Honestly, Wooyoung, do you think I’m an idiot? I can sense life and death. If you had died, I would have sensed it. Of course I knew you weren’t dead, but I didn’t go after you again, did I? I left you alone.” </em>
</p><p>
  <em> “You left me on the streets with nothing but my pyrokinesis and the shirt on my back,” Wooyoung answered angrily. “I certainly would have died if it hadn’t been for Yunho.” </em>
</p><p>
  <em> Seonghwa smirked. “Ah yes, him.” </em>
</p><p>
  <em> Wooyoung tried to reach for his whip, but a simple black spark shot from Seonghwa’s fingertip vapourized that as well. “Really, Wooyoung, I thought you would’ve caught on by now,” Seonghwa said in a bored voice. “You can’t touch me, let alone kill me. You don’t stand a chance.” </em>
</p><p>
  <em> “Heal Yunho.” Wooyoung spat, fire lighting up in the palm of his hand. “Take away the curse you put on him.” </em>
</p><p>
  <em> “I think not.” Seonghwa’s expression did not tense up at all, despite the brightly-lit fireball glowing in Wooyoung’s hand. It infuriated Wooyoung that nothing he did ever fazed his brother. It infuriated him to stand there, helpless against the necromancer, while his friend’s life slowly faded away. </em>
</p><p>
  <em> “Yunho hasn’t done anything to you,” Wooyoung scowled.  </em>
</p><p>
  <em> “And he won’t ever be able to,” Seonghwa replied nonchalantly. “You see, Yunho is the first healer I have ever encountered. I do not know of any other being on this Earth with healing abilities. His abilities directly contradict mine, and… well, we can’t have that, can we? See, unlike you, Yunho is actually capable of defending himself against my magic, to say the least. I can’t run the risk of someone being able to kill me, especially since that someone is so close to my murderous little brother.” </em>
</p><p>
  <em> “Don’t call me your brother,” Wooyoung’s eyes blazed with anger. “You lost that right a long time ago.” </em>
</p><p>
  <em> Seonghwa laughed scornfully, a dangerous venom hidden behind his smile. “Still butthurt over that? I would’ve thought all the murders you’ve committed would’ve made you apathetic towards affection of that sort.” </em>
</p><p>
  <em> Wooyoung scoffed in disbelief. “Don’t talk to me about being emotionless,” He snarled. “I suppose you never cared for me at all, since you threw me out of that window without hesitation?” </em>
</p><p>
  <em> “I did it to protect people,” Seonghwa said firmly. “Your ambition was going to consume you. So many members of Aurora were just there to earn money and survive. We were there to survive. Wasn’t that the goal?” The elder’s face softened into one of sadness and desperation. “Wasn’t that why we were there? Just two kids, whose parents had been taken away from them, doing anything to be able to put food on the table each day? Doing anything to ensure that we could live safely in a proper home, without having to beg on the streets for scraps? I was there to survive, Wooyoung.” Wooyoung could not meet his brother’s smoldering gaze. “You were there to kill.” </em>
</p><p>
  <em> “I wasn’t there to kill anyone except the people who wronged me.” Wooyoung clenched his fist angrily. “Or did you forget how cruelly SEVEN SEASONS destroyed our family?” </em>
</p><p>
  <em> “I will never forget that,” Seonghwa’s replies were calm and rational, which made Wooyoung want to shove his face into a wall. “But to kill and destroy? To murder for no reason other than the fact that you hate them? How were you any better than the agents that killed our parents?” </em>
</p><p>
  <em> “I didn’t want to be better than them.” </em>
</p><p>
  <em> “Why not?” </em>
</p><p>
  <em> “Don’t be insensitive, Seonghwa,” Wooyoung was on the verge of yelling, but he did not want to start a scene here. Not in the middle of the street. Not when his team’s headquarters were right there, and not when Seonghwa could demolish the building in seconds. “I didn’t care about any of the righteous moral glory or anything like that. I just wanted to sleep properly at night knowing that the people who killed our parents were gone! I just wanted the nightmares to go away, I wanted to stop waking up to the sounds of our parents’ screams in the night, I wanted to stop being reminded that I heard those screams and I slept on, only to wake up and find our parents dead!” </em>
</p><p>
  <em> Seonghwa stood stock-still for a second, not moving. His lips trembled as he spoke, and for once, Wooyoung saw a hint of weakness in his stone-cold older brother. </em>
</p><p>
  <em> “Wooyoung… our parents did not scream at all when they died,” Seonghwa said slowly. “If they had screamed, I would’ve heard them. It was completely silent.” </em>
</p><p>
  <em> Wooyoung stared at him. “Don’t play around with me. Maybe you accidentally drank a sip of sleeping draught and didn’t wake up.” </em>
</p><p>
  <em> “Wooyoung.” Seonghwa’s voice was impossibly soft. “I don’t sleep, and you know that. I was fully awake and I heard nothing. That’s why I didn’t go to save them.” </em>
</p><p>
  <em> Wooyoung shook his head, folding his arms over his chest as he backed away from his brother. “No. Stop lying to me.” </em>
</p><p>
  <em> “I’m not lying.” </em>
</p><p>
  <em> “I’m not going to listen to your bullshit,” Wooyoung snapped. “I’m here for Yunho. Cure him.” </em>
</p><p>
  <em> Seonghwa rolled his eyes. “Why should I? He’s just feeding your murderous tendencies.” </em>
</p><p>
  <em> Wooyoung looked at him incredulously, the fireball in his palm glowing brighter as he prepared to throw it at Seonghwa. “He saved my fucking life!” </em>
</p><p>
  <em> “That was his mistake.” </em>
</p><p>
  <em> The younger threw the fireball, and Seonghwa dodged it easily, disappearing into shadows and reappearing a few steps closer to Wooyoung. </em>
</p><p>
  <em> Wooyoung hissed, readying another fireball. “He’s not a bad person, Seonghwa!” He cried, his voice breaking as he spoke. “He’s good. He’s kind. He just wants to heal people and protect them. He’s not bad. I am. You cannot punish anyone but me for my actions.” </em>
</p><p>
  <em> Seonghwa glared at him, eyeing Wooyoung’s fireball pointedly. “I am punishing you, through him.” </em>
</p><p>
  <em> “Seonghwa, please.” Wooyoung begged. He felt the fire inside him die down, the fireball in his hand disappearing as he fell to his knees. For the first time in his life, he did not care if he was showing weakness in front of his brother. All he could think about was saving Yunho. “He’s my friend. He’s one of the only people I have left.” </em>
</p><p>
  <em> Wooyoung looked up to meet Seonghwa’s gaze. Somewhere under all the indifference and hatred, Wooyoung could see it. A slimmer of guilt, of pity, of pain. A tear rolled down Wooyoung’s cheek as he spoke his next few words. “I’ll do anything, I swear. I’ll let you kill me, right on this spot. Just spare him.” </em>
</p><p>
  <em> Something seemed to change in Seonghwa’s eyes. They turned sadder, softer, filling with despair instead of anger. His rage seemed to disappear, the lurking shadows surrounding him slowly retreating backwards. Wooyoung held his breath, praying to whatever god that was up there for Seonghwa to agree. </em>
</p><p>
  <em> There was a flash of black light, then Wooyoung looked up to see a black skull in Seonghwa’s palm, fading away until it disappeared into nothing.  </em>
</p><p>
  <em> “Your friend will be fine in the morning,” Seonghwa said quietly. “Consider this a warning, Wooyoung. If you threaten any innocent person on this planet, I assure you, you will face my wrath. And it will be infinitely more painful than this.” </em>
</p><p>
  <em> Then shadows engulfed Seonghwa and he disappeared, just as Wooyoung collapsed onto the pavement, crying with relief. </em>
</p><p>“Wooyoung.” Yunho’s voice brought the younger man out of his thoughts. “Don’t think about it.”</p><p>Wooyoung shook his head, pushing back tears that were forming in his eyes. “How can I not think about it?” He murmured. “Every single time one of us gets hurt, it reminds me of that. Of how <em> powerless </em>I was to save you.”</p><p>“Hey.” Yunho bent down, looking up at Wooyoung with a gentle expression on his face. “It’s alright. We all make mistakes. We all trip up sometimes. It’s part of life. We’re going to face so many hardships in the upcoming weeks. The possibility of losing one of us is more imminent now than ever. But you can’t let that hold you back. You can’t let that control you and make you act rashly.”</p><p>Wooyoung leaned back against the sofa couch, closing his eyes. “I know,” He whispered. “I know. I’ve been trying to be rational and act logically.” He tilted his head slightly, thinking. “Apart from the fiasco with Yeosang, I don’t think I’ve made any stupid mistakes since this mission started.”</p><p>Yunho bit his lip. “Well… I mean, you did give away your name to Yeosang the minute you saw him in the bar.”</p><p>“That’s not important…” Wooyoung’s voice trailed off as he came to a sudden realisation. “Wait, what?”</p><p>The elder looked amused. “Yeah. The first thing you said to Yeosang was ‘Hey there, I’m Wooyoung.’ I was kind of surprised that Yeosang didn’t react. Maybe he got distracted.”</p><p>“No…” Wooyoung narrowed his eyes suspiciously. “I don’t think he got distracted at all.”</p><p>The pyrokinetic stood up from where he was sitting on the couch, making a beeline for Yeosang’s cell. Yunho followed, looking hesitant, but Wooyoung stopped him before they entered. </p><p>“I want to speak to him alone,” Wooyoung said almost pleadingly. Yunho frowned, concerned, but he reluctantly stepped back, gesturing for Wooyoung to enter alone. “Go, but I’ll be watching from the CCTV in Mingi’s room.”</p><p>Wooyoung smiled at him gratefully, then he stepped inside the cell, shutting the door behind him and hearing the automatic lock click. He looked around the cell and froze in shock. Yeosang was nowhere in sight.</p><p>“Yunho,” Wooyoung yelled. “Where is Yeosang? Did he escape? If anyone can hear me, we have a security breach!”</p><p>“What the fuck?” Wooyoung whirled to the right to see Yeosang standing in front of the bathroom door, wearing a plain white t-shirt and a pair of black pants. His hair was wet from showering and he was drying it with the towel that Wooyoung, Yunho, San and Mingi had provided for him. His expression was unbearably dull.</p><p>Somewhere in the distance, Wooyoung could hear Mingi yelling: <em> “You idiot, he was just in the shower!” </em></p><p>“Have you come to apologise?” Yeosang asked uncomfortably. “Because you really don’t have to.”</p><p>Wooyoung gulped, trying to focus on anything apart from the fact that Yeosang was wearing <em> Wooyoung’s </em>clothes, clothes that Mingi had provided for him (Wooyoung had protested at first, but Mingi had argued that Wooyoung and Yeosang were literally the same height so Wooyoung’s clothes would fit him best. Wooyoung had brought up the fact that comfort was the least of their concerns for a captive, and Mingi had promptly ignored him.) He tried vehemently to ignore how good Yeosang looked in his clothes - seriously, who looked that nice in a plain t-shirt and pants? Wooyoung had been meaning to burn that outfit sometime soon because of how ugly it was. He was shocked as to how Yeosang managed to pull it off.</p><p>Wooyoung mentally slapped himself. What the fuck was he thinking?</p><p>“I’m not here to apologise,” Wooyoung snapped, and Yeosang merely rolled his eyes, walked over to his bed and sitting down on it. “Okay?” Yeosang prompted. “So why are you here?”</p><p>“When we first met in the bar, I told you my name,” Wooyoung explained sharply. “I said I was Wooyoung. Why didn’t you arrest me right then and there? Why did you even let me talk to you? Hell, you almost drank something that I ordered for you. Why did you do that?”</p><p>Yeosang smirked. “I was wondering when you were going to ask that.”</p><p>“Answer me.” Wooyoung’s voice was firm and impatient.</p><p>Yeosang raised his hands up in surrender. “Alright, I will, don’t get riled up,” He said genially. “SEVEN SEASONS told us to arrest you because you were a threat, but you hadn’t committed any crimes against innocent people yet. Well -” The elder tilted his head thoughtfully. “You did kill several SEVEN SEASONS agents, but they were spying on you anyway, so I suppose it was justified.”</p><p>Wooyoung laughed incredulously. “What, so you pitied me?”</p><p>“No, I just wanted to leave you alone,” Yeosang answered kindly. “You didn’t want SEVEN SEASONS to recruit you, you wanted your own freedom. There isn’t anything wrong with that, but the agency decided to hunt you down anyway, because they couldn’t bear to exist in a world where they don’t have as much control over supernatural enhancement as possible. If you don’t want to be a superhero, then you shouldn’t be forced into it just because of what you were born with.”</p><p>Wooyoung raised his eyebrows in surprise. “Well, well. Such a law-abiding, unshakable superhero like you, going against his orders? I never expected that.”</p><p>“Believe me, as a superhero, I hate some of the missions I’m sent on,” Yeosang replied. “I hate killing. I always try to just knock people out and arrest them. I hate it when other agents just shoot their way through everything and disregard the mess that they leave behind. I understood why you didn’t want to be recruited.”</p><p>“So you were just going to let me poison you?” Wooyoung challenged, and Yeosang flushed. “Okay, that was a mistake on my part. Remember, I only knew that you were pyrokinetic and against SEVEN SEASONS. I didn’t know that you were part of a gang that wanted to destroy the agency. I thought… well, I thought I could trust you.” The cryokinetic looked sheepish, and Wooyoung almost felt bad for him.</p><p>Almost.</p><p>“I’m sorry things didn’t turn out as rosy as you hoped they would,” Wooyoung sneered as he folded his arms across his chest. “Now that you’ve seen who I really am, I’m sure you regret not arresting me.”</p><p>Yeosang looked at him quizzically. “No, I don’t think I do.”</p><p>The younger’s brows furrowed in confusion. “What do you mean?”</p><p>“I don’t regret not arresting you,” Yeosang said clearly. “Even after I’ve seen all of you for who you are, I do not want to arrest you. I hardly want to fight you.”</p><p>Wooyoung stared at him. “Why the fuck not?”</p><p>Shrugging, the elder gave him an empathic look. “You’re not a villain, Wooyoung,” He said gently. “You’re just in pain. Your parents were killed by SEVEN SEASONS agents when you were only fifteen. Your brother tried to kill you soon after. You were left out in the street to bleed to death, until Yunho saved your life. Now you want vengeance against the people who have wronged you. That’s not evil. That’s human.”</p><p>Wooyoung glared at him, stalking closer to look Yeosang in the eye. “Who told you that Seonghwa tried to kill me?”</p><p>“Yunho did.” Yeosang answered simply. The younger groaned, hissing angrily as he stared up at the security camera in the room. </p><p>“When this is over, you’re dead to me,” Wooyoung said to the camera, and he swore he heard Yunho’s demonic laughter from all the way in Mingi’s tech room.</p><p>“He didn’t tell me the whole story,” Yeosang protested. “Just that Seonghwa tried to kill you. I’m very sorry about that.”</p><p>“Like I said before, I don’t need your pity,” Wooyoung retorted icily. “I’m not a charity case. I’ve made a living for myself, as you can clearly see.” He began to walk towards the door to leave, but Yeosang spoke up once again.</p><p>“There’s another thing about you that makes you human. At least, another thing that certainly proves you’re not a villain.” The elder’s face was so full of concern that Wooyoung wanted to vomit.</p><p>“Spit it out, then,” Wooyoung replied scornfully. Yeosang smiled at him.</p><p>“Your friends.”</p><p>For a few seconds, Wooyoung froze. His voice caught in his throat, and he could barely choke out an answer. “Explain.”</p><p>“You care for your friends,” Yeosang said quietly. “You care for them more than anything in the world. You hate to see them get hurt, and them being injured makes you lose control. You lash out, you become angry, but only because you care for your friends so much. Like you said, you’re not a fairytale villain. You would die for your friends.”</p><p>“Does this really matter?” Wooyoung demanded impatiently. “One way or another, I still want to destroy SEVEN SEASONS and kill my brother. One way or another, I’m not afraid to kill anyone who gets in my way. My friends do not influence any of this.”</p><p>“Yes, they do,” Yeosang’s voice rose and his posture straightened, his soft disposition turning into one of confidence and sternness. “Your friends are the sole biggest influence on your mission and your goals.”</p><p>“How?” Wooyoung asked. “Explain how.”</p><p>Yeosang gave him a condescending smile. “Because they make you feel guilty,” He explained firmly. “You may act like you don’t care, but the guilt is tearing you apart. You see San, Mingi and Yunho everyday and you’re reminded of what they could be. They could be studying for college exams, they could be hanging out on campus and meeting up with friends and partying and drinking without a care in the world. You’re reminded of what they could be when they’re older. You’re reminded that San has always wanted to be a pilot, because he loves flying. You’re reminded that Mingi has always wanted to be a scientist, because nature fascinates him. You’re reminded that Yunho has always wanted to be a doctor, because he just wants to protect and heal people.” </p><p>Wooyoung’s voice trembled as he spoke. “You don’t know a thing about me.”</p><p>“Every little injury that they sustain reminds you of the thin line that the four of you walk between life and death,” Yeosang continued, his voice getting louder and louder. “Every shout of pain reminds you of the fact that any of them could be killed at any instant. Every drop of blood reminds you that they are working in such a dangerous profession where death is almost as common as breathing. And you know that if any of them die, it will be your fault. You know that you’re subjecting them to this kind of life. You know that you’re stripping away their years of youth, you know that you’re exposing them to pain and fear and trauma that most people would never even dream of experiencing. The guilt consumes you, it drives you mad.” He stood up, practically yelling at this point. “You act like you’re all strong and brave, but it would destroy you to lose one of them. You would be broken - no, you would be shattered. You would never forgive yourself. You’d kill yourself out of guilt.”</p><p>Wooyoung backed away from the elder, but Yeosang began advancing towards him, stepping forward until he had cornered Wooyoung against the wall opposite to Yeosang’s bed. Wooyoung swallowed as he glared at the elder. “That’s not true,” He protested shakily. “You’re wrong.”</p><p>“The guilt isn’t even the worst part,” Yeosang snarled, slamming a hand against the wall as he glowered at Wooyoung. “The worst part is the fear. The darkness that seeps into you every single day. The nightmares that haunt you in your sleep. The feeling of watching your friends die in front of your eyes, then waking up and rushing to their rooms to check that they’re alive. The panic that seizes you when you see them injured. You do everything in your power to protect them, you tell yourself that they’re safe, but it doesn’t make the fear any less. You’re afraid, Wooyoung, and you channel that fear into fits of rage and anger. You hesitate to fight, you’re hesitant about this mission because you’re terrified of losing your friends. You’re no villain, Wooyoung, and you will never defeat Seonghwa and Hongjoong. You know why?”</p><p>Wooyoung did not answer. His tongue felt like it was made of lead, refusing to move out of pure shock and terror.</p><p>Yeosang sneered at him. “You’re just like everyone else. You’re human. You’re afraid. You’re <em> weak </em>.”</p><p>Wooyoung’s eyes blazed with a raging fire and he shoved Yeosang away, stumbling towards the exit door as he glared daggers into Yeosang.</p><p>“Shut up,” He hissed. “You don’t know me at all.”</p><p>Yeosang laughed. “Of course I do, Wooyoung. You think you’re the only one who harbours revenge, guilt and fear?”</p><p>Wooyoung reached for the handle, but Yeosang caught his wrist, drawing impossible near with a deadly look on his face.</p><p>“I know you because you’re <em> me </em>.”</p><p>Wooyoung punched Yeosang in the gut, then ran out of the room, slamming the door behind him before he bolted towards his own bedroom, barely making it there before he collapsed onto his knees, sobbing uncontrollably.</p><p>He hated Yeosang. He hated his incredibly attractive looks. He hated his wisdom and patience and rational demeanour that never seemed to fall. He hated his confident sneer and unbothered smirk. He hated his ability to string together exactly the right words that could rip someone apart. </p><p>He hated that Yeosang was right.</p><p>“Wooyoung?” San’s voice interrupted his crying and Wooyoung looked up to see his best friend standing in the doorway of his bedroom, a worried look on his face. “What happened?”</p><p>Wooyoung buried his head in his hands, pulling at the locks of his ash-purple hair in frustration. “What is he doing to me, San?” Wooyoung whispered despairingly. “What’s happening to me?”</p><p>San sat down next to him, wrapping his arms around the younger boy reassuringly. Wooyoung buried his face in San’s shirt, finding comfort in the warmth and darkness surrounding him as he closed his eyes. He wanted to stay there forever, hidden from the real world and enjoying nothing but his friend’s company. </p><p>“I’m not afraid,” Wooyoung whispered, almost like he was begging for it to be true. “I’m not afraid of losing you. I’m not weak.”</p><p>The aerokinetic laughed, shaking his head as he patted Wooyoung’s head softly. “Does caring for your friends make you weak?” San asked gently, and Wooyoung looked up at him in confusion.</p><p>“You trust us. You love us. Does that make you weak?” San asked once again. </p><p>Wooyoung scrunched up his nose in disgust. “Love is a strong word.”</p><p>San smiled at him. “It’s the right word.”</p><p>“Ugh.”</p><p>The elder looked amused. “How frightening of you,” He said fondly, in response to which Wooyoung merely glared at him.</p><p>“I’m serious, though,” San added in a more serious tone. “Love and trust do not make you weak. If it weren’t for us, you wouldn’t have been able to capture Yeosang. So what if you’re afraid of losing us? That just proves that there are people in this world who have your back, who would die to protect you just like you would do so for them. That just proves that there are people that you trust with your life. That makes you stronger than any ‘villain’ -” San made air quotes as he spoke that word. “- that the world has faced. You don’t kill without reason. You have a clear, ultimate goal and you have people who truly trust you and are not just following you out of fear. That’s not weakness. That’s strength.”</p><p>Wooyoung glanced at his best friend uncertainly. “Every time any of you guys get hurt, I blame myself. I brought you into this, and I feel like you only said yes because I saved Yunho, because you feel like you owe me. Part of me wants to stop completely, to just go home and let you guys live safely, but a greater part of me is telling me to keep going. We’ve come so far, San. We’re so <em> fucking </em>close.”</p><p>“Which is why all of us are going to carry on with you,” San answered firmly. “We’re not leaving anytime soon. Debt has nothing to do with this.” He clasped Wooyoung’s hand, gazing into his eyes with a courageous expression on his face. “We’re here because you’re our best friend, and we would follow you to the ends of the Earth if it was what you wanted. We would never leave you. You’re stuck with us for good.”</p><p>Wooyoung thought, as he smiled and embraced San once again, that forever with his friends didn’t sound half bad.</p><p>-----</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>thank you for reading! i will try to update as soon as possible!</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0007"><h2>7. Secrets and Lies</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>seongjoong hang out in the safe house. a kill mission goes sour for wooyoung and san.</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>I apologise for the late update. I thought I would have my GCSE oral exams yesterday but I only found out on Tuesday that they were cancelled. I hadn't worked on this over the weekend because I was studying. Sorry again!! Here's 9.8k words for updating late!</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>Over the next week at the safe house, Seonghwa and Hongjoong had spent the entirety of the time searching through every single database they could access to get information on Wooyoung and his team. Seonghwa had insisted that they be completely prepared before they attempted to attack Wooyoung, and he had assured Hongjoong that he had not sensed Yeosang’s death yet, so his friend was very much alive. The younger hadn’t looked very relieved upon receiving the information, however, and Seonghwa couldn’t blame him. Who knew what tortures Wooyoung was concocting for the poor cryokinetic in whatever facility they were hiding in?</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The first day had been spent investigating Wooyoung’s aerokinetic friend, who was a real threat with his super-speed abilities. They had dug up CCTV footage from around the bar to try and figure out who the aerokinetic was.</span>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“Don’t you know his name?” Hongjoong had asked impatiently as he had typed commands into one of the computers in the tech room that Jongho had prepared for them. </span>
  </em>
  <span>Seonghwa had found the younger’s frustration adorable, and he smiled at the memory.</span>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“I think it was Sal… or maybe Sam,” Seonghwa had murmured in reply. “I don’t make it a routine to chaperone Wooyoung’s friendships, in case you didn’t know.”</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“He looked Korean, like us. I doubt his name is Sam,” The younger had pointed out. At this, Seonghwa had given him a dull look. “That’s racist.”</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“Sorry.”</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <span>Eventually, they had figured out that the aerokinetic’s name was Choi San, after Seonghwa had found CCTV footage of a fifteen-year old kid picking up a bloodied body off the street almost six years ago. He had studied at a public school in New York City until he was fourteen. Around the same time as his middle school graduation, his parents had found out that he was gay and had beaten him for it. In a panic, San had lost control over his abilities and had sent his parents flying straight into the way of a moving truck. Terrified of being arrested, San had run away from the house, taking only his most necessary belongings and as much money as he could carry. Since then, he had lived on the streets, doing what he needed to in order to survive. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Admittedly, San’s abilities were a bit of a threat to the duo. He could not do much damage with just his powers - getting thrown into the air was hardly a problem for either of them, since Hongjoong could easily use his telekinesis to stabilise himself, and Seonghwa could turn into a shadow so that wind would not affect him. Unfortunately, San’s super-speed did mean that he could run up to them and injure them without giving Seonghwa and Hongjoong enough time to prepare themselves. Seonghwa trusted that Hongjoong’s telepathic abilities would be strong enough so that he could at least sense San’s presence and locate him, even if Hongjoong was unlikely to be able to read San’s mind completely. However, Seonghwa had also devised a plan to manipulate shadows and light to find San - since Seonghwa controlled shadows, he could sense where there was an increase or decrease in them. That way, he would be able to tell where San was moving.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>On the second day, the two of them had looked further into Yunho, who Seonghwa already knew, and the team’s geokinetic, who turned out to be Song Mingi, a long-time classmate of San’s. Seonghwa had assured Hongjoong that Mingi’s abilities were nothing to worry about - since both Seonghwa and Hongjoong could teleport (in Seonghwa’s case, shadow-travel), avoiding Mingi’s vines and earthquakes would not be difficult. Unfortunately, Yunho would be a significant threat towards their mission. Yunho was the only person whose abilities could directly defend against Seonghwa’s shadows - even if Seonghwa knew he could overpower him, it would take time that they could not afford to lose. If Yunho did decide to take a more offensive stance, he could potentially injure Seonghwa. Additionally, Yunho could easily cure the others and keep them fighting for an extremely long time.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Therefore, Seonghwa had decided that Yunho had to be taken out as soon as possible. He did not want to kill the healer, especially Yunho did not actually get involved in the violence, which he and Hongjoong had seen from the incident at the bar. However, he had to make sure Yunho was completely debilitated, so whatever he did to Yunho would probably be extremely severe. Seonghwa had debated the options over the next few days - he could put a ‘living death’ curse on Yunho, which would paralyse him completely and only allow him to think, essentially making him undead, but it was a dangerous curse and it was very difficult to revert. He could make Yunho sick again, since that kind of curse he could control, but in that case, Yunho would still have some control over his powers. He knew that Yunho would still be able to use his magic to absorb the health of someone else in order to regain his own. When he had first cursed Yunho, he knew that the healer was too kind to take energy from any of his friends. Considering now, however, that Yeosang was still with the group, it was likely that Yunho would absorb Yeosang’s health and effectively transfer Seonghwa’s curse to Yeosang. That would not be ideal.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Jesus Christ, Seonghwa didn’t even </span>
  <em>
    <span>know </span>
  </em>
  <span>Yeosang. He literally just knew that he was a twenty-one year old cryokinetic who was close to Hongjoong. Why the fuck should Seonghwa care about whether or not Yeosang would live? </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Seonghwa didn’t even want to be here. He hated SEVEN SEASONS. The agency was cruel and ruthless. He had been so hesitant to put his fellow </span>
  <em>
    <span>Aurora </span>
  </em>
  <span>members in the agency, but the other members didn’t have personal vendettas against the agency like Seonghwa did. The other members just wanted a stable, well-paying job and SEVEN SEASONS could provide that for them. So Seonghwa had traded his own freedom for the security of his fellow members.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Now, he was here trying to save the agency, save the damned CEO from being killed by Wooyoung. If it were up to Seonghwa, he would just swoop in there, get his friends in the agency out, and let the rest of them burn. But for some reason, Kim Hongjoong’s words had convinced him to save them all.</span>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>I promise you, I will do whatever I can to bring your brother back to you. We will bring him home.</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <span>Seonghwa laughed at the notion. </span>
  <em>
    <span>Saving </span>
  </em>
  <span>his brother? There was hardly any hope for that now. His brother died along with his parents all those years back. So why was Seonghwa still holding onto the possibility that his brother would return to him?</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Still, he and Hongjoong had grown much closer over the past week. Hongjoong still slept with his gun under his pillow, but he had opened up to Seonghwa a lot more. Seonghwa was still pretty guarded about his past and he did not share a lot with the younger boy, but it was easy to slip into casual conversation with Hongjoong. They talked about simple things, like Seonghwa teaching Hongjoong to cook and Hongjoong complaining about the loud birds that kept chirping incessantly outside the apartment window. They could talk for hours about anything, and Seonghwa felt comfortable speaking with the younger boy. The atmosphere was the furthest thing from awkward, and they’d even been a bit domestic over the past week. Seonghwa would nag the younger boy to clean the room and Hongjoong would ignore him, focusing instead on either searching databases for Wooyoung or relaxing and listening to music. Then, when Seonghwa got annoyed, Hongjoong would pout at him cutely and beg the elder not to be upset with him. Seonghwa, being the softhearted idiot that he was, could never bring himself to deny the younger boy.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Seonghwa?” Hongjoong’s voice floated out from the tech room, and Seonghwa snapped out of his thoughts.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yes?” He asked quickly, walking down the hallway and into the room. As he entered, he noticed that Hongjoong was seated on the rolling chair in front of the several computers set up on the desk, scrolling through databases upon databases of information trying to figure out where Wooyoung was.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The younger saw him and his eyes lit up, smiling widely. Seonghwa almost rolled his eyes, but he forced himself not to, not wanting to hurt Hongjoong’s feelings.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Seriously, though, the younger boy was way too naïve. Seonghwa could see it in everything that Hongjoong did. The way his face lit up and his entire posture straightened when they started talking strategy and discussing ways to defeat Wooyoung. The way his eyes burned with a brilliant fire when he held Wooyoung at gunpoint back in the bar. The way he seemed to literally brighten up when he was fighting Wooyoung, San and Mingi in the bar - he was almost </span>
  <em>
    <span>vibrating </span>
  </em>
  <span>with energy. Sure, Hongjoong knew that there was a dark side to all of this, but Seonghwa didn’t think that it had changed him at all. Hongjoong was still a little boy in Seonghwa’s eyes, a child who liked playing pretend and running around the house with his fist raised in the air. He still loved the feeling of being a superhero. He still wanted to be ‘Good’.</span>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>One day, he will betray you, </span>
  </em>
  <span>a voice in the back of Seonghwa’s head warned. </span>
  <em>
    <span>One day, he will find out who you really are and he will hate you forever. He will shut you out and leave and curse you for being even more villainous than Wooyoung. Keeping your secrets will only help you temporarily. One day, he will discover the truth. It is only a matter of time.</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <span>Seonghwa tensed, making sure not to show any reaction on his face. He knew that Hongjoong would never forgive him if he found out the truth. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>For some reason, Seonghwa’s heart hurt thinking of the day when all would be revealed.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Hongjoong was radiant and honest and kind and heroic. He was Good in every single way possible. He cared for his friends and he had an impeccable moral compass. He just wanted to protect people and as far as Seonghwa knew, he was rational and never let anger or hatred get the better of him. When Seonghwa had admitted to trying to kill Wooyoung, Hongjoong had been understanding and had comforted him.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Seonghwa was despicable. He had no problem letting thousands of agents die just because he hated the agency. He killed without hesitation and he never felt guilty about killing people who were working with the enemy, even if they were only forced into it. Seonghwa was a villain, someone so much worse than Wooyoung.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Hongjoong deserved better.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Are you listening to me?” Hongjoong snapped his fingers in Seonghwa’s face, looking slightly irritated. Seonghwa blinked, flushing a little when he realised that he, in fact, had not been paying attention to what Hongjoong had been saying.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Sorry.” He tried for a sheepish smile. Hongjoong rolled his eyes.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I asked you, do you think it’s a good idea to go back to the bar and scout it out?” The younger repeated his question, speaking slowly on purpose.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Seonghwa tilted his head, considering the option. As a matter of fact, no matter how many times Seonghwa went there to watch over his brother, he still had no idea how to locate the team’s headquarters. He knew for certain that the bar was one of the team’s hideouts because of just how often Wooyoung visited the place. It had to be one of their headquarters. However, if Seonghwa himself, in all those years he had spent watching over Wooyoung from aside, had been unable to locate the headquarters, then Seonghwa doubted that he and Hongjoong would be able to locate it if they went to scout it out now.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“It will likely be futile,” Seonghwa answered apologetically. “I doubt that we will be able to find anything there.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Ugh.” Hongjoong groaned, leaning back into his chair with a dejected groan. “Your brother is hella good. He’s covered up all his tracks.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Seonghwa stared at the younger blankly. “Why would my brother be Hela? Isn’t Hela a girl? And isn’t she mythical?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Hongjoong burst into laughter, his features brightening into a cheerful, joyous, carefree smile as he shook his head at Seonghwa. The elder wanted to freeze that moment forever, he wanted to record it and treasure it because he knew that one day, he would never be able to make Hongjoong laugh like that again.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Seonghwa pinched himself angrily. Why was he even thinking of this? He was surely going insane.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You really grew up under a rock, didn’t you?” Hongjoong sighed with a smirk on his face. “I didn’t mean the Norse goddess Hela. It’s sort of a contraction of ‘hell’. It’s just meant to be like, ‘really’ or ‘extremely’. Saying someone is hella good just means that they’re really good.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Ah, I see.” Seonghwa nodded, filing that information away into his mind. He really needed to get more up to date with current slang.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The younger grinned at him before turning back around in his chair, clicking on some security cameras and disabling them. “Anyway, I think we should go visit the bar, even if it might be useless. Just give it a good look around. Besides, if nothing happens, then no harm done, right?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Seonghwa hesitated. It was dangerous to leave this safe house unless they were absolutely sure that they would make progress by leaving it. SEVEN SEASONS had eyes and ears almost everywhere.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Still, he could see that despite Hongjoong’s cheerful exterior, the younger boy was worried. He was worried for Yeosang, who was still stuck with Wooyoung and his gang. He did not even know if Yeosang was alive or not. Seonghwa imagined that Hongjoong was in an extensive amount of pain right now.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Sighing, the elder poked Hongjoong in the shoulder to get his attention. When Hongjoong looked up at him, he began to speak. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Alright,” Seonghwa agreed reluctantly. “We’ll scout out the bar tomorrow. It’s night time, there will be too many people there if we go right now.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Really? Great!” Hongjoong looked significantly happier than before. “Well, I disabled the security cameras around the bar. There’s nothing else we can do now.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Right.” Seonghwa nodded nonchalantly. “Would you like to get some rest? I can keep searching for any leads on Wooyoung while you sleep.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Hongjoong shook his head vehemently, standing up from his seat and folding his arms over his chest. Whether or not he was trying to look daunting, Seonghwa couldn’t tell, because the elder literally </span>
  <em>
    <span>towered </span>
  </em>
  <span>over Hongjoong. The younger’s height was so adorably… lacking.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Nuh-uh, you are </span>
  <em>
    <span>not </span>
  </em>
  <span>going to spend the whole night chasing cold leads,” Hongjoong ordered strictly. Seonghwa found it amusing that the tiny superhero was bossing him around, but he let it slide anyway. “We should do something fun. Something that isn’t related to Wooyoung, or working, or the potential deaths of thousands of agents.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Seonghwa raised an eyebrow. “What do you have in mind?” He asked curiously. “I must warn you, I am awful at video games. Wooyoung tried to get me to play once, and he absolutely clobbered me.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The younger pouted. “Aw, come on. I can teach you!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Seonghwa groaned. Why was he always pulled into this? He was phenomenally terrible at playing video games. Especially the last time, when his avatar had gotten killed and he’d nearly vaporised the controller in a panic.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I truly am disastrous,” Seonghwa warned. “You’d get bored playing with me.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Hongjoong shrugged. “We can play an easy game!” He said cheerfully. “Do you know Mario Kart?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Seonghwa shook his head, and Hongjoong gasped in horror. “Oh my God, you poor deprived soul.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The elder gave him a dull look. “I don’t have a soul.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“When you play Mario Kart, you will gain one,” Hongjoong answered simply. He grabbed Seonghwa’s wrist and dragged him out into the living room, where a television was hanging on the wall opposite the couch. Seonghwa reluctantly sat down on the couch, watching as the younger boy turned on the screen and fiddled with some controllers for a bit. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Did Jongho actually set up a gaming console for you?” Seonghwa asked incredulously. Hongjoong nodded, grinning. “Of course!” He exclaimed excitedly. “If we’re going to be stuck here with no leads on Wooyoung, we’d better have something fun to do.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I do not count this as </span>
  <em>
    <span>fun</span>
  </em>
  <span>,” Seonghwa whined, glaring pointedly at the Mario icon that had appeared on the screen. “Look at that, Mario’s overalls are horrendous. He has no taste at all.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You can change your avatar to someone more fashionable, relax,” Hongjoong reassured him as he plopped down next to Seonghwa on the couch. He handed Seonghwa a red controller, which had a ridiculous amount of buttons on it. Why were there so many buttons? Why were the buttons labelled X, Y, B and A? What was wrong with A, B, C, D?</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Okay, here’s how it works.” Hongjoong explained. “The game is like a car race. You have to complete the track three times, and try to come first. In order to move forward, you have to press X.” He pointed at the button labelled ‘X’ on the controller. “You’ve got to keep pressing X the entire time or you won’t move at all.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Seonghwa nodded slowly. “Okay, X to move forward.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“On the track there are often these cube boxes with a question mark on them. Those are power-ups,” Hongjoong continued. “They give you different temporary boosts. For example, you can get a mushroom power-up. Those will help you accelerate quickly. You have to press this ‘L’ button -” Hongjoong pointed at a black button at the top of the controller, within reach of Seonghwa’s left hand. “- in order to use the power ups.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“L for power-ups.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yep.” Hongjoong then fiddled with the round black toggle on the left side of the switch. “This, you use it to turn. Press left, then you’ll go left, and vice versa.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Toggle to turn.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yeah, you got it.” The younger smiled widely at him. “That’s basically it. There are some advanced moves but since you’re just starting, I won’t teach them to you. We can play the slow version first.” Seonghwa watched as Hongjoong clicked around with his controller and the screen changed to show a list of ‘CC’ options. The younger picked ‘50cc’, explaining that it was the slowest speed for the game. Then, he helped Seonghwa choose an avatar (Seonghwa ended up being the ghost, because all of the others were wearing ridiculous clothes) and set up a cart (Seonghwa was alright with any, but Hongjoong had ranted on about how some carts had better speed or traction or whatever those even meant). Finally, Hongjoong chose the course in the top-left corner of the screen (he said that it was named ‘Mushroom Cup’) then the screen lit up with a highly animated picture of a circuit with asphalt roads surrounded by bleachers.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Hongjoong helped Seonghwa out through the first round, yelling pointers such as “Turn left!” and “Throw that shell!” and “You’re driving the wrong way, turn around!” Seonghwa had no idea how the younger managed to still play perfectly along with checking on Seonghwa’s progress and basically telling him what to do.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>After the first round on the course, Seonghwa cheered upon realising that he was in ninth place. “I got ninth!” He said excitedly. However, he noticed that Hongjoong was still playing, and when he looked at the screen, the race had clearly not ended. “What?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Hongjoong gave him a frantic look. “Keep playing, the race isn’t over!” He said hurriedly. Seonghwa frowned in confusion, but he quickly pressed the X button again, moving forward (he was now in the grand position of 12th). “But we finished the course! I crossed the finish line!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The younger rolled his eyes. “Didn’t I tell you already? You have to complete the course three times before it finishes!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“WHAT?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Just keep playing!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Eventually, the course finished, with Hongjoong coming first by a landslide and Seonghwa ended up in 12th place. The younger looked thoroughly amused by Seonghwa’s misfortune.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You’re literally a grandpa,” Hongjoong said between giggles. “I have never seen anyone play that badly.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Seonghwa frowned. “12th place is not bad! It’s only two places away from the top ten.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The younger laughed even harder, almost falling off the couch. “Seonghwa, 12th place is dead last. There’s only 12 players.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The elder stared at him in horror. “Are you serious? That is ridiculous! Why would you only race with twelve people? It was such a large track!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Oh God.” Hongjoong slapped his hand against his forehead, still laughing uncontrollably. “You know what, let’s keep going. Maybe you’ll improve.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Seonghwa most certainly did not improve over the next few courses. He crashed into trees at least thirty times (seriously, why the hell were there so many trees on the goddamn track?), tried to drive straight through a big white marshmallow (wasn’t his character a ghost? Why couldn’t he just pass through the marshmallow?) and ended up getting flattened by a gigantic stone face that came out of nowhere (at this point, Seonghwa had sworn that the game was cursed.) He did manage to come 11th in the last race, but at the end, his overall score was still dead last.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Jesus Christ.” Hongjoong pointed at Seonghwa’s username (he was registered as Junyoung, just in case SEVEN SEASONS were checking Mario Kart servers or something), which was listed at the bottom of the rankings. “You got </span>
  <em>
    <span>one point </span>
  </em>
  <span>in the entire game. I cannot believe this.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Seonghwa sighed. “I did tell you that I was disastrous at video games.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Let’s not keep playing, I don’t want you to feel bad,” Hongjoong decided, switching off the controller. “Want to watch a movie?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Do you want to?” Seonghwa asked him politely. Hongjoong glared at the elder. “I asked you first.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I am not the one who needs rest. It is up to you.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Oh, fuck it. We’re watching a movie.” Hongjoong rolled his eyes as he switched the television to open Netflix, flicking through several films that Seonghwa did not recognise. “Hey, let’s watch The Avengers! It’s pretty fitting at a time like this.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I know who the Avengers are!” Seonghwa exclaimed in amazement. “I know them!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Hongjoong laughed. “Wow, that’s a first,” He said sarcastically. Seonghwa slapped his arm in return. “Ow! You’re mean.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Just play the damn movie, Hongjoong.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>As the movie played on the television screen, Seonghwa understood why the movie appealed to Hongjoong so much. It was exactly the kind of story that Hongjoong wanted to live. A group of superheroes banded together to stop evil aliens from invading the universe. They were led by Captain America, a just and kind and righteous man who would not hesitate to give his life to save others. He was serious and down-to-Earth about the mission, and he disapproved of his co-captain Iron Man’s snarky and sarcastic attitude. Yet in the end, it was Iron Man who gave his life to destroy the aliens. Iron Man, who was a billionaire, who was in a relationship with Pepper Potts, who had everything anyone could ever want, gave it all up to save the Earth.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Seonghwa could see the passion and excitement in Hongjoong’s eyes as he watched the film. The younger boy looked utterly entranced, unable to tear his eyes away from the screen. His eyes were filled with stars and a brightly burning fire. He looked wistful and determined and so innocent, so pure, so… vulnerable.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>And yet Seonghwa’s heart hurt when he watched Loki appear on screen, sending the aliens into Earth to destroy it out of hatred for his brother. Killing thousands of innocents just to be able to reign as king for once, just to quiet the jealous monster inside him that screamed of injustice. He watched as the evil villain so quickly stabbed an agent who had just been trying to protect the world. He watched as the agent trembled in fear, even when holding a powerful weapon to the villain. He watched as the agent sunk to the ground, his eyes turning misty and unfocused. He watched as the agent’s death shook everyone in the agency, even those who did not know him. Even those who hadn’t even spoken to the agent were mourning.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Seonghwa never had to worry about death, because he could not die. Yet the movie still made him wonder, if he was able to die, would anyone mourn him? Or would he die alone, rotting away in a grave with no one carrying on his memory?</span>
</p><p>
  <span>A warm mass engulfed Seonghwa’s left side and Seonghwa turned in surprise to see Hongjoong leaning against him, his eyes closed and his breathing soft and quiet. For a few seconds, the elder just sat there, shocked. He did not know how to react. Should he push the younger boy off him? Should he wake him up? He figured it would be best to let the younger boy sleep on the couch, and he moved to fetch a blanket.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>As Seonghwa shifted to stand up, however, Hongjoong grabbed onto his wrist sharply, causing the elder to freeze in his tracks. He looked down at Hongjoong, who was staring up at him sleepily, his eyelids drooping with exhaustion. The younger boy let out a small whine, impeccably quiet, but Seonghwa heard it.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Stay.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Seonghwa did not move. He felt like his breath had been knocked out of him, like someone had taken his heart and thrown it around. He could not believe that this was happening. Why would someone as kind as Hongjoong ever ask him to stay?</span>
</p><p>
  <span>But Hongjoong’s grip on his wrist did not loosen, and Seonghwa found himself gently leaning back onto the couch, reaching over with his left arm to allow Hongjoong to lean on him more comfortably. The younger hummed happily, placing his head on Seonghwa’s shoulder and closing his eyes. Within seconds, he was fast asleep.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Seonghwa stared at the younger incredulously. A million thoughts ran through his head, but he shoved them away, choosing to focus on the present situation. Everything around him seemed to blur and he could only focus on the beautiful and peaceful boy sleeping next to him. He noticed that Hongjoong had a few small specks of uneven skin near his right eye. He noticed that the younger’s blonde hair dye was fading away, back to a more natural colour of brown. He noticed that the younger’s eyelashes were incredibly long, and they fluttered slightly when he slept. He focused on nothing but Hongjoong’s ethereal beauty, and even if Seonghwa’s brain was screaming at him to snap out of it, to get a hold of himself and to wake up to reality, Seonghwa ignored it.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The last thing Seonghwa remembered was leaning his own head against Hongjoong’s before darkness engulfed him.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>-----</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Alright, you know the drill,” Wooyoung announced as he strapped a weapons belt under his black blazer and black pants. “I know we’re trying to destroy SEVEN SEASONS and all, but we’ve still got to get paid. This client is offering up almost a million dollars for the removal of the specified information and the capture of Lee Junyoung. It’s a typical mission, nothing we haven’t done a thousand times before. Mingi, you stay on comms, watch our backs from the tech room. San, you delete the information. I will find Lee.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The group had been hired to capture Lee Junyoung, one of the head supervisors at The Matrix, which was the biggest internet hub in the US. The hub was based in Washington D.C., which was a thirty-minute ride away if San and Wooyoung took the team’s specialised aircraft. Their client had been dealing drugs underground for a while, and Lee Junyoung had caught onto his trail. So, their client demanded that all the information on his dealings be deleted, and that Lee Junyoung be captured and brought to him. It wasn’t anything particularly difficult.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Yunho would not be joining them on this mission, since he had intern work to do in a local hospital somewhere in the city. He had reasoned that since this mission wasn’t a major one, his presence wasn’t required. Wooyoung had agreed to it, knowing that he and San could easily complete this mission on their own.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He and San shoved on their black masks, straightening the bulletproof black blazers they were wearing (courtesy of Mingi). They bid goodbye to Mingi before stepping out of the facility and into a small, sleek silver aircraft parked over in a hidden street. The two stepped into the aircraft, San taking the pilot’s seat while Wooyoung buckled himself into a passenger seat. San’s fast reaction speed allowed them to avoid any possible accidents that they might encounter, so he was essentially their designated driver.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Within a few minutes, the aircraft was already airborne and headed for Washington. Wooyoung put on some relaxing music - BTS’ new album, </span>
  <em>
    <span>Map of The Soul: 7 </span>
  </em>
  <span>- and laid back into his chair, watching New York City fade away from view. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“So, how’s the plan for taking down SEVEN SEASONS going?” San asked as he steered. “Have you been able to pin down all the details?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Wooyoung sighed. “Not exactly,” He muttered. “I know that the four of us won’t be able to take down the agency alone. Even without Kim Hongjoong and possibly my brother fighting us, the agents are well equipped to neutralise enhanced threats. They’ve been able to keep Seonghwa at bay, so I’m sure they’ll be prepared for us.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>San frowned, gripping the controls of the aircraft a little tighter. “That’s not good, Wooyoung,” He warned. “We don’t have a lot of support. We could call in some people from other factions in </span>
  <em>
    <span>Journey</span>
  </em>
  <span>, but I doubt that many will agree to join.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yeonjun would help us,” Wooyoung pointed out. “I don’t think he’d endanger the rest of TXT, though. Renjun, Jeno and Jaemin from NCT DREAM would help as well.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I think we’d be able to recruit Mia and Sihyeon,” San added on. “As for IZ*ONE, I doubt any of them would come to our aid. Maybe Eunbi would be game, but the rest of them certainly wouldn’t help. They wouldn’t want to jeopardise their current mission, anyway.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Wooyoung bit his lip worriedly. They didn’t have a lot of support backing them. They were lacking in so much - they needed weapons, information, manpower… alone, they didn’t stand a chance.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Where are we going to get recruits?” Wooyoung wondered aloud. “I only know a few other gangs whom we can pull favours from.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What about Yeosang?” San mentioned curiously. Wooyoung almost choked on air.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Are you crazy?” He stared at San in disbelief. “Have you </span>
  <em>
    <span>seen </span>
  </em>
  <span>Yeosang? That guy hates us and everything that we do.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>San rolled his eyes in response. “That’s not true,” He protested. “You saw how Yeosang reacted when he hurt me. He was scared. He apologised. He felt guilty for hurting his </span>
  <em>
    <span>captor</span>
  </em>
  <span>, for God’s sake. He doesn’t want to hurt us.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Wooyoung glared at his best friend, leaning back against the passenger seat in annoyance. “There’s a very wide gap between not wanting to hurt someone and wanting to team up with them to destroy the US’ national intelligence service.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The aerokinetic shrugged. “I’m just saying, it wouldn’t be a bad idea. We could use another enhanced on the team, and Yeosang knows the workings of SEVEN SEASONS well. He’ll be extremely useful.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The younger grumbled reluctantly, not wanting to acknowledge that San was right. He stared out the window, watching the skyscrapers of New York City pass by with a pensive expression on his face.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Having Yeosang on their team would be </span>
  <em>
    <span>incredibly </span>
  </em>
  <span>helpful. Wooyoung knew that Yeosang was very powerful - having both cryokinesis and hydrokinesis made him a double threat. Truly, Wooyoung did not know why Yeosang rarely used his hydrokinesis. He figured that it was probably because cryokinesis was more deadly, but still. Wiping out the entire bar with a tsunami would’ve been an effective way to kill Wooyoung.</span>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>I wanted SEVEN SEASONS to leave you alone.</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <span>The pyrokinetic snarled angrily, remembering the heated conversation he’d had with Yeosang almost a week ago. From that day on, he’d gone out of his way to avoid contact with the captive, which hadn’t been a problem since Yeosang was stuck in a cell the entire time. San, Mingi and Yunho had spoken to Yeosang every now and then, keeping the conversation light and casual. Wooyoung did not understand, for the life of him, why they would bother being so courteous to a captive.</span>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>If you don’t want to be a superhero, then you shouldn’t be forced into it just because of what you were born with.</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <span>There it was, of course - Yeosang’s noble, honest </span>
  <em>
    <span>goodness</span>
  </em>
  <span> that Wooyoung could not escape. No matter what Wooyoung did to him, even if Yeosang was literally left in a cell to rot away from boredom, even if Wooyoung almost beat him up, Yeosang did not </span>
  <em>
    <span>hate </span>
  </em>
  <span>Wooyoung. Yes, he had yelled at Wooyoung last week, but Wooyoung was smart enough to know that it had not been done out of hate. It had been a desperate grasp in the dark by Yeosang, a plea for hope, a hand reached out to Wooyoung, offering him a chance to change. Offering Wooyoung a chance to be </span>
  <em>
    <span>Good</span>
  </em>
  <span>. Offering Wooyoung a chance to turn around and make things right before he lost everything. It had been like a wake-up call, a slap back into reality, reminding Wooyoung that behind all the revenge and hatred, there was still love and kindness and friendship that Wooyoung had to protect. It was a reminder that Wooyoung was putting so much on the line just to settle a grudge match.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Yet even after knowing all of that, Wooyoung still scoffed at the idea of </span>
  <em>
    <span>forgiving, </span>
  </em>
  <span>of being </span>
  <em>
    <span>Good</span>
  </em>
  <span>.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Hey.” San’s voice pulled him out of his thoughts. “You’re thinking pretty loudly over there.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Wooyoung turned back to face his best friend. “Sorry,” He muttered, his anger slowly dissipating. </span>
  <em>
    <span>Focus on this moment, </span>
  </em>
  <span>He thought. </span>
  <em>
    <span>Just take it one day at a time.</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <span>San smiled at him, the corners of his eyes wrinkling up as he did so. “Don’t apologise. You didn’t do anything wrong.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Eyes on the fucking sky, Choi San.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The aerokinetic laughed as he turned back to face the clouds, even though both Wooyoung and San knew that San would not get into an accident even if he kept his eyes away. San’s reflexes were just that good.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The duo flew for a little while longer before they reached a tall skyscraper made almost entirely of shatterproof glass. The building was built in the shape of a light bulb, and through the glass, Wooyoung could see thousands of workers bustling around in the facility.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Modern architecture never disappoints,” San murmured as he manoeuvred the aircraft to hover right above the tip of the skyscraper. With a flick of a button, the entire aircraft turned invisible. Wooyoung grinned. “Architects are always so dramatic.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Mingi, we’re here. Disable the security cameras,” San spoke into his in-ear transceiver. Barely a second later, Mingi’s voice answered back loud and clear. “Done. Good luck.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Masks off,” Wooyoung ordered, and he and San took off their black masks, shoving them in their pockets. They approached the drop-off point, and a ladder dropped down to the floor, only visible to Wooyoung and San. Both of them were decked head-to-toe in formal wear - black dress pants with a white dress shirt, black ties and black blazers. They were not the most comfortable outfits to dress up in, but it helped them blend in. Wooyoung would rather not start a large ruckus at this point, especially since this was just a side mission.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The two climbed down the ladder, strolling towards the large glass revolving doors that were the rooftop entrance to the building. There was a guard at the revolving door who approached them, but Wooyoung quickly slipped him several hundred-dollar bills and winked at him, pressing his finger to his lips in a shushing gesture. The guard’s eyes widened at the sight of that much money - there had to be at least two thousand dollars in his hand right there - and he immediately stepped away from Wooyoung and San, bowing politely.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I could have just turned us invisible,” San muttered under his breath as the two walked away from the gleeful guard. Wooyoung shrugged. “We had money to spare, anyway.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The Matrix’s top floor was filled with people. Almost all of them were wearing suits like San and Wooyoung, so the two blended right in. Many people had smart watches or phones in their hands, with high-tech virtual screens floating above the gadgets. From what Wooyoung observed, most of the screens were displaying data, although some were conducting a video call or sending an email. The workers were busy and none of them paid any attention to San and Wooyoung.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Mingi, locate Junyoung,” Wooyoung said into his earpiece. There was a pause, then Mingi’s voice rang out. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“He’s at the centre of the building, where all the databases connect to one server. Level 35, go to the lift lobby on the left.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Right.” Wooyoung and San immediately turned left, heading towards the lift lobby as Mingi had instructed. The lift lobby was extremely grand - there was a diamond chandelier hanging from the ceiling and the elevators were framed with stained glass. Even the up and down buttons were made of some sort of precious gem.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>San whistled lowly. “Wow. Data collectors are fucking rich.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Did you even see how much we’re getting paid for a simple mission like this?” Wooyoung replied, equally impressed. “If we can earn that much just to press the ‘delete’ button a few times, imagine how much these guys earn.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The elevator door opened and Wooyoung and San’s jaws nearly dropped. The entire elevator was made of glass, and it overlooked the entire skyline of Washington D.C. There was yet another chandelier hanging from the ceiling of the elevator and the buttons and bars in the lift were made of pure gold. Wooyoung and San barely remembered to step into the elevator before its doors closed once again.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Wooyoung punched the ‘35’ button, shocked when it lit up before his finger even touched the surface. “The buttons are equipped with automatic non-contact sensors,” He whispered in awe. “That’s so cool.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Mingi, are you getting this?” San murmured into his transceiver. “These are the kind of updates we want in the facility.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Mingi’s annoyed snort echoed through their earpieces. “Just focus on the mission.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The elevator began to descend and the view became even better. The skyscrapers of Washington D.C. drew nearer and nearer, their windows and metal railings glittering in the sunlight. Soft, acoustic music played in the background of the elevator - Wooyoung faintly recognised an Ed Sheeran song, though he couldn’t pinpoint its name.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Too soon, the elevator stopped at the 35th floor, a robotic voice announcing: ‘Level 35 - The Nucleus.’</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Wooyoung smirked at the cheesy name, stepping out of the elevator and scanning the entire floor. They were standing on a narrow elevated platform, with a staircase leading down from it. There was no actual floor on this level - everything was connected by platforms, staircases and ramps, making it resemble nerves in a human brain. In the centre of all of it was a circular platform with a big virtual screen on top of it. A man was tapping away at the screen, sifting through billions of databases with ease.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“That’s our man,” Wooyoung whispered to San. “Lee Junyoung.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Looking around the level, Wooyoung frowned in irritation. There were several workers around, and even though most of them were doing their own work, they would certainly start a commotion if they tried to kidnap Junyoung right then and there. Additionally, the workers would notice them deleting data.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Change of plans,” Wooyoung said quietly. “San, since you’re fast, you should take Junyoung. Turn invisible, grab Junyoung and go. If you’re fast enough, the workers won’t notice. Just make sure you cloak Junyoung as well and stop him from screaming. I’ll delete the data - as long as we don’t start a commotion, the workers will think I’m one of them.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Got it.” San nodded and disappeared into thin air. Wooyoung observed the entire room carefully, making sure that no workers were watching them. He waited until Junyoung also disappeared from the centre before he began walking down the staircase leading to the circular platform.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>As he was walking down, however, he crossed paths with another young man who stared at him pointedly. He had black hair and big brown eyes and Wooyoung could’ve sworn he’d met him before. Unfortunately, the pyrokinetic could not recall his name at that moment.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Hey,” The other man said curiously, peering at Wooyoung. “I don’t believe I’ve seen you here before.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Wooyoung smiled genially, putting on his winning smirk. He knew no one could resist that. (Yeosang was an exception.)</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I’m actually an intern here. I just started a few days ago,” Wooyoung explained smoothly. “By the way, sir, that’s a lovely tie you’ve got there. You have excellent taste.” Honestly, the worker didn’t look much older than Wooyoung himself, but manners were always rewarded.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The man raised his eyebrows in surprise, but his tense demeanour died down. He laughed, shaking his head as he patted Wooyoung on the shoulder. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“So you’re one of those sweet-talkers. I don’t get affected by those, but I’m sure it’ll work on some other higher-ups here. Keep trying,” He commented good-naturedly. “I’ll see you around the building, then.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Wooyoung waited until the man had walked a fair distance away before he exhaled in relief, quickly moving to the circular platform before he could be interrupted by anyone else. His fingers flew across the virtual screen, rapidly sifting through data and finding the incriminating evidence that he was meant to destroy. Before he pressed the delete button, however, Wooyoung noticed something in the far corner of the screen.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>It was a small folder, hardly a hundred gigabytes large, labelled: ‘</span>
  <em>
    <span>Park Seonghwa</span>
  </em>
  <span>’.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The pyrokinetic hesitated, eyeing the folder longingly. To be able to dig up information on his brother would certainly aid him in his mission. Who knows what kind of secrets his brother was hiding?</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What’s taking so long?” A voice hissed in Wooyoung’s ear and the pyrokinetic almost jumped. He rubbed his ear irately, sighing. “Sorry, Mingi.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Hurry up!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Wooyoung pressed the delete button, erasing all the files, then he clicked on Seonghwa’s folder, typing in commands to send it to the ATZ’99 database. It barely took Wooyoung thirty seconds to break through security commands - all those hours he had spent listening to Mingi ramble on about coding and technology really paid off. He made sure to cover his tracks by erasing his browsing history, opening a tab about some food data in order to make it seem like he had been researching harmless information.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Mingi, save that folder I just sent you,” Wooyoung muttered under his breath as he began to walk away from the center platform. “San, status?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Waiting at the rooftop - </span>
  <em>
    <span>shit!</span>
  </em>
  <span>”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>A loud bang sounded from San’s side of the transceiver and San’s scream echoed right after it. Wooyoung’s eyes widened in panic and he bolted towards the elevator, shoving people out of the way, not caring about keeping us his cover. He threw himself into the lift, jamming the rooftop button several times as the elevator doors closed and the lift began to rise.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What happened?” Wooyoung hissed into his transceiver. A whimper resounded from it, followed by a cry of pain. Wooyoung could feel his heart racing in his chest. He begged whatever God there was that San was not hurt. The elevator seemed to rise unbearably slowly, and every millisecond spent waiting for it to reach the rooftop was torture for Wooyoung.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Wooyoung… the kid is here,” San rasped in a pained, weak voice. “Jongho is here.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>-----</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Nice work today, Jongho,” Choi Hyunsuk, the leader of the SEVEN SEASONS SWAT team </span>
  <em>
    <span>Treasure</span>
  </em>
  <span>, high-fived the younger boy. “Your hand-to-hand combat skills have improved so much since you first started here.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Jongho smiled at him gratefully. “It’s all thanks to your teaching,” He pointed out, and Hyunsuk laughed, shaking his head. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Nah. You’re better than me now, for sure.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The elder boy had been training Jongho in hand-to-hand combat since Jongho had first been recruited. Hyunsuk had always been so understanding and patient with Jongho, even when the younger had been lazy and hadn’t wanted to practice. Jongho was almost like a younger brother to Hyunsuk, even if the elder already had eleven other boys in his SWAT team to care for.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Well, he </span>
  <em>
    <span>had </span>
  </em>
  <span>had eleven boys. Now there were only six of them left. Wooyoung had slaughtered five of them when he had caught them spying on him.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You know, Treasure is… low on people,” Hyunsuk said slowly, his voice trembling as he spoke. “We could use someone like you on our team, and it’s probably safer for you to operate with a team.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Jongho gave the elder boy a concerned look, the atmosphere turning much more serious. “Hyunsuk, I won’t ever be able to replace Jeongwoo, Junghwan, Haruto, Doyoung and Asahi,” He explained gently. “And you know that Eden would never let me join you.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Hyunsuk sighed, his eyes watering up with tears as he took off the boxing tape around his hands. His hands were shaking as he did so, and Jongho knew that he was struggling to stop himself from crying.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“They were so young,” Hyunsuk whispered, clenching his fist angrily. “Jeongwoo, Doyoung and Junghwan were only eighteen. Haruto and Asahi were just sophomores. They were </span>
  <em>
    <span>kids</span>
  </em>
  <span>. I begged Eden to let me scout with them but he refused. I couldn’t even be there to protect them.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Jongho frowned, walking over to clasp Hyunsuk’s hand warmly. He watched as tears rolled down the elder’s cheeks, and he wondered how someone could even bear to live through that much pain and guilt.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“We’re going to find Wooyoung,” Jongho reassured him. “We’ll find him, and we’ll kill him.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Hyunsuk looked up at Jongho, his eyes still glistening with tears. “Do me a favour?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Anything.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The elder’s grip stiffened in Jongho’s hand, and his expression turned deadly. “When you find Wooyoung, bring him to me. I want first blood.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The younger met his gaze, firmly nodding as he squeezed Hyunsuk’s hand. “Done.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Hyunsuk smiled at him warmly, then he pulled away, heading towards the exit of the training room. “I’ll see you around, Jongho.” He waved at the younger boy before leaving the room.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Jongho watched him go, his heart sinking as he thought of all the members that Hyunsuk had lost overnight. He didn’t know them well, but he had seen how Hyunsuk acted around them. He had treated the five members like they were his own children. Whenever they weren’t with him, Hyunsuk had constantly been calling them, asking if they were alright and checking up on them. Jongho remembered how Hyunsuk had collapsed onto the ground when he’d found out that his members had been killed. He remembered watching as Hyunsuk sobbed into his hands, his cries raw and agonising. Jongho had never seen such heartbreaking grief before. He could only stand there helplessly, watching as Hyunsuk’s world fell apart in front of his eyes.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Jongho promised himself that he would find Wooyoung and kill him if it was the last thing he did.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The young agent left the training room after spending an hour doing shooting practice, his aim still as impeccable as ever. He made his way up to Eden’s office, deciding to take the emergency stairs instead of the lift just to get that extra exercise in.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>When he approached the door to enter Eden’s office, however, he slowed when he heard Eden and Maddox speaking, deep in conversation. He was about to step and in and interrupt when something that Maddox said made him freeze in his tracks.</span>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“Our scanner picked up abnormal levels of radioactivity and energy in New York City. Do you think that it could be Park Seonghwa?” </span>
  </em>
  <span>Maddox sounded worried and nervous. Jongho almost squeaked in surprise upon hearing this, fear and panic immediately rising in his mind. He had to contact Hongjoong as soon as possible. He had to tell him that SEVEN SEASONS knew about Seonghwa being in the country.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Eden’s low voice came out in response. </span>
  <em>
    <span>“It is likely. If Jung wants to see the destruction of SEVEN SEASONS, I do not doubt that his brother would aid him. After all, Park has already attempted to destroy us once.”</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>What? </span>
  </em>
  <span>Jongho narrowed his eyes, feeling his heartbeat fall to a standstill in his chest. A different kind of shock engulfed him and his breath nearly stopped completely.</span>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“I do not believe that Park would ally himself with Jung. They are likely not on good terms - the fact that they each took different last names shows that they do not want to be affiliated with each other.”</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“Hatred can make strong alliances, Maddox. And even if they are not allied, I am sure Park is here to destroy us. He must know that Kim and Kang are missing. Now would be the prime time to attack us, when we are at our weakest.”</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“You do not believe that he has learned from the last time he tried to take us down?”</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“Last time, he succeeded in what he aimed to do, Maddox. I am sure he has no doubt that he will be successful once again.”</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <span>Jongho’s eyes widened as he listened in, his mind racing. Seonghwa had tried to destroy SEVEN SEASONS before? He had been unaware of that. But Seonghwa had genuinely seemed kind and wise when Jongho had met him in the safe house. He had seemed wise and understanding and reasonable, like someone who had seen and experienced a lot of pain and death and who understood the consequences of violence and revenge. Truth to be told, Jongho could not imagine Seonghwa trying to destroy SEVEN SEASONS in a frenzy.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Eden said that Seonghwa had </span>
  <em>
    <span>succeeded </span>
  </em>
  <span>in what he had aimed to do, but SEVEN SEASONS did not have a track record of being demolished or destroyed. So how exactly had Seonghwa succeeded in his mission if he had tried to take down the agency?</span>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“If he is here to destroy us, he surely would have sent a sign by now. Perhaps we should try recruiting him? Now that we are down on agents, of course.”</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <span>Jongho could hear the horror in Eden’s gasp. </span>
  <em>
    <span>“Are you out of your mind? He would never agree to helping us, and besides, he wants us dead. Why would he protect us?”</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“We could threaten him. Like we always do.”</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“He is not an angel. He has his own values and he would never go against them, no matter what the price is.”</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“Very well then. Should we send Jongho to find him?”</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“Yes. Go find him now.”</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <span>There was the sound of footsteps approaching and Jongho bolted down the stairs before Maddox could see him, escaping onto the next level down (the storage rooms) and hiding until he heard Maddox’s footsteps pass by and fade away. He exhaled in relief, slumping against a storage cabinet while he tried to gather his thoughts.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Jongho needed answers. He needed information and knowledge and explanations. He would not find them here.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He knew of only one place where he could possibly hope to find what he was looking for.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>It took Jongho less than five minutes to shove on a formal blazer, dress shirt and dress pants, hiding a shotgun inside his blazer in case of emergencies. He managed to find a USB in one of the storage boxes labelled ‘hard drives’, slipping it into the pocket of his blazer where it clinked against his gun. The young agent made sure to look out for Maddox as he entered the elevator to head down to the garage, and thankfully the senior commander did not bump into him while the lift was going down. Once he got into the garage, he slid into the driver’s seat of one of the agency’s fastest cars and rolled out of the facility, headed for The Matrix.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The drive took only ten minutes, even with Jongho driving extremely carefully (he had only started driving about six months ago, so he was terrified of getting into an accident). About halfway through, his phone lit up with a call from Maddox, but Jongho didn’t answer it, letting it ring several times before a beeping sound signalled that Maddox had given up trying. Jongho figured that he’d probably get into trouble about that later, but he hardly cared. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Once at the Matrix, Jongho parked across the building, stepping out and walking towards the entrance as quickly as he could without looking weird. He looked around, making sure that there were no security cameras watching him, then he stepped through the glass revolving doors and into the grand, sparklingly clean and modern main hall of The Matrix.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>People were bustling around as normal, engrossed in the virtual screens lighting up from their wristwatches and phones. Some workers recognised Jongho - The Matrix and SEVEN SEASONS worked very closely, after all - and waved at him, Jongho smiling back amiably. A security guard walked up to Jongho with a suspicious look on his face, but Jongho quickly flashed his SEVEN SEASONS ID and he backed off, bowing politely to him. Jongho thanked the guard kindly, requesting that he keep Jongho’s visit a secret. Though the guard looked confused, he obliged, stepping backwards and saluting.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Jongho laughed, amused by the guard’s strict mannerisms, and made his way across the sparkling marble floors to the lift lobby. He smirked as he observed the bejewelled elevator frame and chandelier hanging above, rolling his eyes at the institution’s extravagance. All the money spent on expensive architecture could have certainly been used to improve and advance technology, but of course, nobody brought that up. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>He entered the elevator, pressing the button labelled ‘35’. As the elevator doors closed and the lift began to rise, Jongho looked out the window, observing the beautiful skyline of Washington D.C. The soft acoustic music in the background and the sparkling rooftops were a stark contrast to the adrenaline and curiosity running through Jongho’s veins.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>As soon as the elevator stopped at the 35th level and the doors opened, Jongho walked out briskly, headed straight for the circular platform in the centre of the level, also known as ‘The Nest’. It was basically the location of the fastest, most interconnected server in the world, where every byte of information passed through. If one knew how to navigate through it, it was a source of endless knowledge.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Jongho reached the platform in no time, moving over to one side of the virtual screen. Over on the other side of the platform, another worker was also searching up information, but he was far away and would not be able to see anything that Jongho was looking at. He was safe.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Fingers flying across the keyboard, Jongho set a navigation code for any information related to Park Seonghwa. He was utterly shocked at how </span>
  <em>
    <span>little </span>
  </em>
  <span>information came up - why, there was hardly one hundred gigabytes of information on him. That was astonishingly lacking for someone as dangerous as Seonghwa.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Still, Jongho selected all the information and moved it to a folder labelled ‘Park Seonghwa’, downloading it onto his USB and ejecting it as quickly as possible. He could not risk looking at the information here - it was not safe. He would have to wait until he reached his home.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The young agent began to quickly walk back to the lift lobby, keeping his head down and trying to look nonchalant. As he was walking, however, he bumped into another young worker, who looked up at him apologetically after he did so.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>For a moment, Jongho was about to just let him be, but when he got a proper look at the worker’s face, he stopped cold.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>It was none other than Jung Wooyoung.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The young agent panicked, his mind racing as he tried to figure out what to do. Should he shoot him right on the spot? Wooyoung was enhanced, though - he could probably easily take Jongho down. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>From the corner of his eye, Jongho noticed the silver-hair-streaked aerokinetic from the bar standing by the elevator, tightly gripping onto a gagged man. His eyes widened ever so slightly and his fist clenched - he could not let Wooyoung and his henchmen take another innocent life.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Wooyoung was looking at him weirdly now. Jongho figured that he had to say something or Wooyoung might become suspicious.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Hey,” Jongho stared at him, trying to look curious. “I don’t believe I’ve seen you here before.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Wooyoung put his trademark smirk on, and Jongho wanted to slap it off his face.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I’m actually an intern here. I just started a few days ago,” Wooyoung lied so easily, Jongho was almost impressed. </span>
  <em>
    <span>Almost</span>
  </em>
  <span>. “By the way, sir, that’s a lovely tie you’ve got there. You have excellent taste.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Jongho raised his eyebrows as he tried to fake surprise, loosening up his stance to try and look unaware. He laughed, shaking his head as he reached out to pat the villain on his shoulder.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“So you’re one of those sweet-talkers,” He flashed Wooyoung an amiable smile. “I don’t get affected by those, but I’m sure it’ll work on some other higher-ups here. Keep trying. I’ll see you around the building, then.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Jongho waited until Wooyoung was far away, then he bolted towards the lift lobby. He entered the elevator, irritated to see that the aerokinetic was already gone. However, it only took him a few seconds to figure out which level the aerokinetic had gone to - there was a thinner layer of dust on the ‘R’ button, meaning that it had been recently pressed. The aerokinetic was on the rooftop.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Jongho jammed the button to the rooftop and tapped his foot impatiently as the lift rose up. He quickly reached into his blazer and assembled his shotgun in record time, grabbing the handle with his right hand and cocking it just as the elevator doors opened.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>In front of him, the aerokinetic was dragging his captive towards an aircraft hovering above the building. A ladder hung down from the aircraft and the aerokinetic reached out to grab it, muttering something into his in-ear transceiver.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>It was now or never.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Jongho aimed his shotgun at the dead centre of the aerokinetic’s back and fired.</span>
</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>what's going to happen to san? wait and find out!</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0008"><h2>8. Fatal Flaws</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Seonghwa wakes up to a horrifying discovery. Wooyoung pulls all strings to save San. Jongho and Hyunsuk come to a terrifying realisation.</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>I AM REALLY SO SORRY :( i know it's been more than two weeks since I last updated even though I promised I'd update once a week. I really just couldn't find the motivation to write until recently and my teachers gave me so much work for the last week before easter break :(</p><p>for future reference, if I don't end up being able to update weekly, please just know that I am not giving up on this story! i am definitely going to finish it at some point and I'm always trying to work on it every day. so please stay tuned and bear with my horrible time management skills. </p><p>here is an 11k chapter for waiting so long &lt;3</p><p>thank you for reading and leaving kudos/comments!!</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <em> “You’re late.” </em>
</p><p>
  <em> Seonghwa stood in the strong metal doorway of the basement, his hands trembling as he trained his eyes onto the floor. He could not afford to mess up. He could not afford to get scared or angry. One slip-up, and everything would go to hell. </em>
</p><p>
  <em> “I was putting Wooyoung to sleep,” Seonghwa explained softly. “He took an especially hard defeat today in training.” </em>
</p><p>
  <em> “Disgusting pig.” In the darkness of the room, Seonghwa could not make out the features of the man speaking to him. He didn’t need to. He knew what he was here for. Sometimes his parents would personally be present, but sometimes they’d get too lazy and would send another agent from the gang instead. Seonghwa figured it was the latter this time round. </em>
</p><p>
  <em> “You think trying to be nice to your brother is going to make you a good person?” Sharp nails dug into his arm and Seonghwa was roughly yanked towards the centre of the room. “You’ll never be anything more than a monster and a freak.” </em>
</p><p>
  <em> The young necromancer didn’t flinch. He didn’t cry out in pain or struggle against the man. He just let him push him around, already having accepted his fate. It was the same thing every single night. There was no point in trying to avoid the pain. It would only hurt him and Wooyoung in the long run. </em>
</p><p>
  <em> There was a scratchy, swishing sound and Seonghwa knew that the man had taken out a knife. He felt slightly relieved - knife cuts were less painful than being beaten up, so Seonghwa would take them anyday. Scars and cuts hurt a lot because of the blood loss and vein damage, not the pure impact. Since he had no blood, knives hardly hurt him. On the other hand, he did have bones, and whenever he got beaten up, the impact of his bones breaking hurt like hell.  </em>
</p><p>
  <em> Of course, Seonghwa had made sure that the man wasn’t aware of that. He made sure to flinch and cry out in faked torment every time he was cut with the knife. His oppressors were none the wiser. </em>
</p><p>
  <em> Seonghwa drew in a deep breath as he felt the cold metal of the knife touch his cheek. He closed his eyes, pretending to be afraid, as if he was preparing for the pain. </em>
</p><p>
  <em> The knife slashed down harshly against Seonghwa’s cheek, and Seonghwa noticed the difference immediately. He noticed the sharp sting of pain that exploded when the knife cut through his skin. He noticed the unusually agonising feeling of something in his cheek being ripped apart. </em>
</p><p>
  <em> Most importantly, he noticed the drip, drip, dripping of a warm liquid leaking down to his jaw, staining it ruby red. </em>
</p><p>
  <em> Blood. </em>
</p><p>
  <em> Seonghwa was bleeding. </em>
</p><p>
  <em> The necromancer raised his hand to his cheek in shock, yanking himself away from the man’s grip with his inhumane strength, not even bothering to hide it anymore. He snapped his fingers and the shadows in the room dissipated instantly, leaving the room illuminated with light. He stared down at his hand, where fresh, glistening crimson blood was splashed against his palm.  </em>
</p><p>
  <em> “Who are you?” Seonghwa rasped out, horrified. The man was currently facing away from him, so Seonghwa could only see his dirty blonde mullet and jacket-covered back. He was considerably smaller than Seonghwa, which meant that it wouldn’t be difficult to take him out in a fight. </em>
</p><p>
  <em> Who this man was, why he could draw blood from Seonghwa, the necromancer did not know. The only thing Seonghwa knew was that he was a threat and had to be eliminated. </em>
</p><p>
  <em> When the man did not respond, Seonghwa flicked his wrist and a shadow wrapped around the man’s body, forcing him to turn around. The man bent his head down, trying to avoid being seen, but Seonghwa forced the smaller man to meet his gaze with another shadow wrapped around his skull. </em>
</p><p>
  <em> Nothing could have prepared Seonghwa to see Hongjoong’s black eyes staring back at him. </em>
</p><p>
  <em> The necromancer dropped his grip immediately, stunned. Hongjoong immediately relaxed his body, coughing for air after having all the oxygen nearly squeezed out of him by Seonghwa’s shadows. Seonghwa stared at the young psychokinetic, puzzled and terrified at the same time. Something in the back of his mind told him to kill him, to kill Hongjoong where he stood and destroy this dangerous threat. Yet Seonghwa could not bring himself to do it. He could only stand there, paralysed with shock, looking at the beautiful young psychokinetic who had just made him bleed. </em>
</p><p>
  <em> “See.” Hongjoong spoke once again, his voice laced with poison. “I knew you couldn’t do it. You’ll never be able to hurt me.” </em>
</p><p>
  <em> “Hongjoong, what -” Seonghwa began, bewildered, but deep down he knew that this was not the real Hongjoong. This was an invention of his nightmares, a creation from the darkness inside him. </em>
</p><p>
  <em> So why could he not bring himself to hurt the other man? </em>
</p><p>
  <em> “Even Achilles had a weak spot,” Hongjoong spat. “Everyone has their Achilles’ heel. I am yours. You’ll never be able to touch me… but I can kill you.” </em>
</p><p>
  <em> Seonghwa’s eyes widened and he backed up unsteadily, stepping away from the younger man who was now advancing towards him. Hongjoong backed him into a wall, his eyes piercing and furious. Seonghwa placed his hands in front of him to stop Hongjoong from coming near him, but no shadows flew out of them. The younger man smirked, pressing closer to Seonghwa until his face was only inches away from the other’s. </em>
</p><p>
  <em> Seonghwa sucked in a breath, frightened beyond belief. </em>
</p><p>
  <em> Then Hongjoong stabbed his knife straight into Seonghwa’s chest. </em>
</p><p>Seonghwa jolted awake, breathing heavily. He felt a weight on his shoulder and turned to see that Hongjoong was still sleeping there beside him, completely unaware of Seonghwa’s present turmoil.</p><p><em> What the fuck? </em>Seonghwa thought, his heart racing as he tried to piece everything together. Had he just fallen asleep? It wasn’t like he was unable to sleep, but he hadn’t slept in a long time. He hadn’t needed to. He definitely hadn’t ever felt the need to sleep, and he certainly wouldn’t have slept at a time like this. It was too dangerous - somebody had to be on guard at all times. Seonghwa could not fathom what had made him fall asleep. He could hear his heart beating in his chest out of fear. </p><p>Wait.</p><p>
  <em> Heartbeat. </em>
</p><p>Seonghwa’s hand flew to his chest, and sure enough, he could feel the steady thrum of a heartbeat under his skin. He placed two fingers on his wrist and sure enough, a pulse was there, beating steadily against his fingertips.</p><p>“What the hell,” Seonghwa murmured, his hands trembling. What was happening to him? First he had fallen asleep, now he had a <em> heartbeat </em> ? And a <em> pulse </em>? </p><p>There was only one more thing left to find out.</p><p>Flicking his wrist, Seonghwa conjured up a sharp shadow-knife in his hand, raising it to his opposite arm. Quickly, he nicked a small but deep cut into his forearm, watching as the knife cut through his skin.</p><p>Dark, swirling masses of black sparkles flowed out of it as usual. There was not a speck of blood in sight.</p><p>Seonghwa was completely, utterly dumbfounded.</p><p>So he could not bleed. That was good. That meant that he wouldn’t die, at least. Yet if there was no blood in his veins, why could he hear his heartbeat? Why did he have a pulse?</p><p>If his abilities were compromised, it could endanger Hongjoong and jeopardise the mission. Seonghwa needed to figure out what this was, and he needed to figure it out now.</p><p>There was only one person in the world that could answer Seonghwa’s questions. </p><p>As quietly and gently as possible, the necromancer slid away from Hongjoong’s sleeping body, holding the younger man’s head and slowly placing it onto one of the couch pillows. Hongjoong shifted to one side and Seonghwa held his breath, thinking that the younger man was waking up. However, Hongjoong’s eyes stayed shut and he did not move after shifting over, meaning that he was still asleep. The necromancer breathed a sigh of relief. He did not want to go through the trouble of having to explain his current situation.</p><p>Shadows surrounded Seonghwa and he closed his eyes, visualising a place in his mind. It was not a location he’d ever been to, but he knew it well. Every necromancer knew the place like the back of their hands.</p><p>The world around him dissipated into darkness and a cold feeling erupted in Seonghwa’s stomach, the shadows around him whispering in his ears as he travelled. Seonghwa was used to it, but it had an effect on him nevertheless.</p><p>
  <em> Come with us. </em>
</p><p>
  <em> Look at your power. Look at your abilities. </em>
</p><p>
  <em> You can be more than just a second-rate vigilante. </em>
</p><p>
  <em> You never finished your mission. You can finish it now. </em>
</p><p>
  <em> Don’t back away. You are so close. </em>
</p><p>
  <em> You can bring justice to so many people. </em>
</p><p>
  <em> You can get the revenge you’ve been dying for. </em>
</p><p>
  <em> Just come with us. </em>
</p><p>Seonghwa clenched his fists, shaking his head rapidly as he tried to shut the shadows out. The temptation to succumb to the darkness, to let his anger and vengeance take over and to just destroy everyone who had wronged him was incredibly strong. When Seonghwa had first started off, he had come dangerously close to surrendering. Now, he was stronger. </p><p>“I know justice better than any of you,” Seonghwa hissed firmly. “I will decide how to serve it.”</p><p>The shadows slowly disappeared around him and Seonghwa found himself standing in the front courtyard of a colossal mansion. Upon first glance, it looked like your average ultra-rich family estate, with its pearly-white pillars surrounding the grand entrance, gold window frames adorned with diamonds, and immaculate marble walls. Of course, every necromancer in the world knew that there was more to this mansion that riches and glamour.</p><p>Seonghwa approached the massive golden double doors, knocking politely (and almost breaking his knuckles in the process. That gold was <em> hard </em>). He quickly ran a hand through his hair and brushed up his clothes, trying to look slightly presentable. He would rather not be incinerated today.</p><p>After a few moments, the doors opened to reveal a rather short but terrifying woman standing in the doorway. She wore a short-sleeved, thigh-length, tight-fitting black leather dress with ankle-length black heeled boots. Several long pieces of black lace were draped over her arms and shoulders, and she wore a black silk glove on her left arm, which was covered in golden decorations and diamond jewellery. She had long, stock-straight raven hair and dark gray cat eyes that seemed to pierce straight through Seonghwa’s soul. She carried herself with an aura of confidence and dominance that made Seonghwa feel ridiculously small, despite him being significantly taller than her.</p><p>“Grand Mage.” Seonghwa immediately bowed low, keeping his eyes trained on the floor.</p><p>“Rise, young necromancer,” The woman replied in a smooth tone, and Seonghwa slowly lifted his head once again. Grand Mage was a position given to the eldest necromancer in the world - so, the necromancer who had lived the longest. So far, this woman had been the Grand Mage for almost seven hundred years. She was the most powerful necromancer to walk the Earth, which made her one of the most dangerous people in the world right now. However, she was a guardian for the necromancer community, a beacon of courage, wisdom and strength. If there was anyone in the world who could explain Seonghwa’s nightmare, it was her.</p><p>The woman smiled as she recognised Seonghwa’s face, tilting her head to the side slightly. “Ah, Park Seonghwa. I’ve heard all about you. You’re the talk of town among the necromancer community.”</p><p>“I hope it is all good talk, Your Excellency,” Seonghwa answered politely. The woman laughed, her stance relaxing as she placed her hands on her hips. “You may call me Soyeon. After all, you’re almost as popular as me, now.”</p><p>Seonghwa silently breathed out a sigh of relief, thankful to know that the Grand Mage was not as cruel as she looked. “Thank you, Soyeon,” He said graciously. “I do apologise for arriving without prior notice, but this is an emergency.”</p><p>Soyeon raised a perfectly-shaped eyebrow, her eyes falling down to the torn skin on Seonghwa’s arm where he had cut himself. Her expression turned grave, and she gave Seonghwa a firm nod.</p><p>“I see. Come with me.”</p><p>Seonghwa allowed himself to be led by Soyeon into the grand mansion. The entrance hall was just as grand as the exterior. An enormous diamond chandelier hung from the ceiling, reflecting bring streaks of light towards every corner of the room. A blood red carpet had been laid out on the floor, leading from the front doors to the top of a vast white marble staircase in the centre of the room. The sides of the staircase were lined with intricate gold railings, and the staircase split into two at halfway, one side leading towards several hallways on the left, and another side leading towards other rooms on the right. The walls were lined with paintings of necromancers in black clothing, and Seonghwa jumped in surprise when he noticed that the necromancers were actually <em> moving </em>. Some of them were eating food, some were exercising, some were practicing their abilities… Seonghwa felt his stomach flip when he saw some necromancers with guns in their hands, murdering innocent humans.</p><p>Soyeon’s lips curled downwards as she followed Seonghwa’s gaze towards the paintings. “Yes, it is disappointing to see that there are some of our kind who have fallen prey to the darkness inside of them,” She commented sadly. “These paintings reflect the actions of necromancers in real life. All of the people depicted are real, and the ongoing situations are occurring right now, as we speak. It allows me to keep track of every necromancer around the world, every second of the day.”</p><p>Seonghwa nodded, thoroughly impressed. “What if you see necromancers like those?” He asked, pointing at a murderous necromancer in one of the paintings. “Do you just leave them?”</p><p>Soyeon shrugged. “I try my best to save the people they have harmed. As you are aware, we can spread the darkness inside of us into other people, so I find the victims and -”</p><p>“- make them necromancers,” Seonghwa finished. The Grand Mage smiled, nodding in agreement. “Yes, that’s right. I make them necromancers, like us. It is the only way for me to ensure that they do not die from their injuries.”</p><p>“What do you do with the crazed necromancers?”</p><p>Soyeon’s smile dropped. “It depends,” She muttered darkly. “Sometimes they are not too far fallen that I am able to help them find a balance and control the darkness. Sometimes they are lost cases. Some personalities are simply not compatible with necromancy, as you are already aware of.”</p><p>Seonghwa pursed his lips, looking down at his feet in silent agreement. Necromancy was truly a cruel kind of magic. It cherry-picked its hosts and did not care about the lives that were torn apart because of it. It was like a malicious form of natural selection.</p><p>“That is not important right now, though,” Soyeon pointed out sharply as she led Seonghwa up the marble staircase and towards a hallway on the left. “Your problem seems to be much more pressing.”</p><p>The two of them walked into a gigantic library, with shelves upon shelves of books of all shapes and sizes. There was an entire wall on the far side of the library made entirely of glass windows, looking over the grassy courtyards outside the mansion. Pure sunlight streamed in from the window panes, the weak rays of dawn filling the library with a dim orange light.</p><p>Soyeon gestured for Seonghwa to sit down on one of the black leather couches while she searched through a bookshelf on the far right. “So,” She said sternly. “Explain everything. How this problem started. Why you decided to cut yourself.”</p><p>Seonghwa gulped, but he replied nevertheless. “It just started last night,” He began. “I’ve been hiding in a safe house in New York City for the past week or so. This psychokinetic - his name is Kim Hongjoong, maybe you know him?”</p><p>Soyeon nodded as she pulled out a thick brown book and flipped through it. “Yes, I’ve heard of him. The famous superhero ‘Kim’, is he not?”</p><p>“Yes, that’s right.” Seonghwa continued with his story. “My brother Wooyoung captured his superhero friend, Kang. He asked me to help him save Kang and stop Wooyoung. Wooyoung wants to take down SEVEN SEASONS -”</p><p>“Look, that all sounds very interesting, but I frankly do not care about whatever mission you’re on right now,” Soyeon interrupted him with a roll of her eyes. “Just get to the real problem.”</p><p>The young necromancer sighed reluctantly. “Alright. Last night, I fell asleep. I didn’t mean to, I didn’t even think of it. I just blacked out. Then I had this dream - it’s a memory from my childhood, when my parents or some of their friends would beat me up at night. Sometimes they would use a knife and cut my skin.”</p><p>The Grand Mage paused her scanning of books and turned to Seonghwa, frowning in confusion. “Surely that would not have hurt so much, since you do not bleed?”</p><p>“Exactly,” Seonghwa grimaced. “It shouldn’t have hurt so much. I usually pretended it hurt a lot so that they would use the knife more and beat me up less. In this dream, however… I bled.” He watched as Soyeon froze, her hand lingering over a page of the book. </p><p>“You bled?” The atmosphere seemed to turn colder, Soyeon’s expression turning unsettling. Seonghwa nodded. “Yes.”</p><p>“Who was the person who cut you?”</p><p>The young necromancer hesitated. “It’s not important.”</p><p>Soyeon picked up the book she had been leafing through, stalking over to Seonghwa and slamming it down on the table in front of him. She gave him a deadly glare. “It is <em> the </em>most important thing. Who was it?”</p><p>Biting his lip, Seonghwa reluctantly answered her. “Hongjoong,” He said quietly. “It was Kim Hongjoong.”</p><p>The Grand Mage paced back and forth, wringing her hands together. “When you fell asleep, where was Kim?”</p><p>Seonghwa flushed, the memory of Hongjoong leaning on him resurfacing in his mind. He had been so <em> warm </em>- as a necromancer with no blood, Seonghwa was cold as ice. Human contact felt like someone had put a warm blanket over him, and Hongjoong’s presence had been especially comforting. And Hongjoong’s grasp on his wrist, his whispered plea for Seonghwa to stay, that had done something to Seonghwa’s heart that the necromancer was still not quite sure about.</p><p>“He was beside me,” Seonghwa murmured. “No, not like that,” He quickly added, glowering at Soyeon as she gave him a suggestive smirk. “We were sitting on a couch, watching a movie. Then he fell asleep, and I slept soon after.”</p><p>Soyeon’s shit-eating grin did not leave her face, much to Seonghwa’s displeasure. “Alright, if you say so,” She teased lightly. “What happened when you woke up? Where was Hongjoong then?”</p><p>“He was still sleeping there,” Seonghwa explained. “But… I could hear my heartbeat. When I woke up, I heard my heartbeat. I felt my pulse. Those weren’t part of my dream, they were happening in real life. That’s why I came here.”</p><p>The Grand Mage pursed her lips, stopping her pacing to face Seonghwa. “You cut yourself to check if you would bleed, didn’t you?” The younger necromancer nodded, and her expression turned grim.</p><p>“To be honest, I’ve only read about this in books,” Soyeon muttered. “It’s a very rare occurrence… but it’s not impossible.”</p><p>She flipped open the book on the table, turning to a page about halfway through. Seonghwa quickly scanned the contents of the page, his eyes trailing over the title and diagrams. At the top of the page, the words ‘<em> FATAL FLAW </em>’ were scrawled across in fat black letters.</p><p>“What is a fatal flaw?” Seonghwa asked curiously.</p><p>“It is the downfall of a necromancer,” The Grand Mage explained. “You see, our powers are modelled after the characteristics of Death. We live forever, because death is inevitable. Death is constant. So, we are constant.”</p><p>Seonghwa nodded. “Okay.”</p><p>“Death is almost always uncontrollable,” Soyeon continued. “We cannot control at what age we stop breathing. We cannot control when a car might speed towards us and run us over. We cannot control when we might be shot dead. However, there are two things that can control death. There are two things that can alter death. Since we mirror Death, there are two things that can alter us, or kill us. There are two things that can end our immortality. The first is fear.”</p><p>She pointed at the bottom right corner of the page, which had a diagram depicting a man shooting himself, with another man beside him holding a whip.</p><p>“Fear of the future can cause people to <em> choose </em> to die. Fear can control a person’s death. For example, here, this man chose to die rather than to be tortured. Suicide is the most common form of death by fear. Fear is the reason why some necromancers fall prey to the darkness inside of them. Those necromancers that are too afraid to use their power end up being destroyed by it. Those necromancers that are too afraid to <em> lose </em>their power end up being consumed by it. Fear is the first fatal flaw of necromancy, the first thing that can end a necromancer’s immortality. However, fear is not a problem that balanced necromancers such as ourselves face. Instead, we are confronted with a much more deadly emotion.”</p><p>Soyeon pointed to another diagram on the page, which showed a young woman jumping in front of a young man, protecting him from an arrow that had been shot at him. The arrow pierced through the woman’s heart, but it did not touch the man.</p><p>“Love is the second thing that can control death, and can kill us.” The Grand Mage said softly. “Sometimes, people choose to die out of love for someone else. They choose to take the force of death in order to prevent their loved one from dying. A love to this extent is rare, especially among necromancers. Only balanced necromancers even get a chance to experience this, since the others are destroyed by fear too quickly. Even so, most necromancers are shunned by the outside world. We are considered evil beings, threats, monsters… we never get a chance to experience what it is like to have someone care for us so greatly. We are forced to live alone.”</p><p>Seonghwa frowned. “Surely you have friends?” He protested. “I have friends - the agents that have been working with me to take down crime in developing countries are very close to me.”</p><p>Soyeon shrugged, tilting her head questioningly. “That’s the thing, though,” She explained. “You are immortal. When you are with them, you are not running any risks. You’re safe with your friends. They will not arrest you, nor will they try to hurt you. You have all the freedom you want when you are with them. So, you’re not really sacrificing anything by being close to them, or trusting them. With Hongjoong, however, things are different.”</p><p>The young necromancer folded his arms over his chest, leaning back against one of the couch pillows. “Explain.”</p><p>Soyeon smiled wryly. “You already sacrificed so much just by going to America with him,” She answered simply. “You agreed to leave your team, to sit out on a mission that could save hundreds of innocent lives in Abuja. You flew to America, risking being arrested by SEVEN SEASONS - and you <em> knew </em>that they know how to control you. They know exactly how to blackmail you.” </p><p>Seonghwa winced, not appreciating the stark reminder. He made a mental note to tell Hongjoong about SEVEN SEASONS’ blackmail at some point.</p><p>“You agreed to fight your brother, knowing full well that Hongjoong would likely kill him on the spot if he ever got a chance to. It tears you apart to do so much as spit harsh words at your brother, but you agreed to fight him, possibly injure him, maybe even kill him, just to help this stranger.” Soyeon slammed her hands down on the table in front of Seonghwa, looking him dead in the eye. “So, I’ll ask you this once. Why did you do it?”</p><p>The young necromancer hesitated. “I don’t know,” He admitted apologetically. “I thought that I could save Wooyoung, I guess. I thought that I could bring my brother back.”</p><p>“But you trusted this psychokinetic to protect you, even if he was a SEVEN SEASONS agent?”</p><p>Seonghwa sighed, wringing his hands together in frustration. “Yes? I mean… he was different from the other agents I’d met. He’s… naïve. He’s still young - I mean, he’s a year younger than me, and most of the agents I usually meet are at least a decade older. He’s innocent. I can tell that he only has good intentions. He just wants to help people. He was willing to betray SEVEN SEASONS, to hide from the agency and risk being fired just to get my help. He was willing to risk everything just to stop Wooyoung. He’s ridiculously unaware, but at least he’s genuine. Because of that, I felt like I could trust him.” Seonghwa covered his face with his hands. “Oh God, I sound like an idiot, don’t I?” </p><p>“Absolutely.” Soyeon’s response was blunt as ever. Well, necromancers weren’t exactly the most empathic people. It was hard to relate to mortals when you were immortal, after all.</p><p>Seonghwa gave her a dull look. “You’re really not helping.”</p><p>“I don’t intend to fix your tendency to trust people too quickly,” Soyeon answered matter-of-factly. “I certainly don’t plan to deal with your love-at-first-sight occurrence with Hongjoong. Your confusion is hardly of importance right now.”</p><p>“It wasn’t love at first sight -”</p><p>“What’s important is the threat that Hongjoong poses to you,” Soyeon ignored Seonghwa’s protests, continuing with her explanation. “You risked your freedom, you risked being arrested, you risked being forced to kill your brother just because you liked Hongjoong, or respected him, or trusted him or whatever it is. Now, you had a dream that Hongjoong managed to make you bleed. Then you woke up and you had a pulse. This can only mean one thing.”</p><p>Soyeon slammed the book shut, glowering at Seonghwa. “Hongjoong is your weakness. He is your <em> fatal flaw </em> . He is the one person in this world that is capable of killing you. His presence makes you more… <em> human </em>, because you love him, and love is a human emotion. The darkness inside of you is terrified of that, so it hides away. It… disappears, temporarily, when Hongjoong is around. That is why, in your dream, he drew blood from you. That is why you felt your pulse when you were next to him. When you are around him, the human side of you is much more present than anywhere else.”</p><p>Seonghwa ran his hands through his hair, aghast. “<em> Love </em>him? But I don’t love him - I don’t even know if I like him in that way! Why the hell is this happening so soon? I’ve barely known him for a week!”</p><p>The Grand Mage rolled her eyes. “Hell knows why this is happening so quickly. Maybe you’re just a pushover like that.” Seonghwa glared at her, but she (once again) conveniently ignored him. “You have to be careful, though. Hongjoong is the one person that can kill you. Being around him won’t make you lose your immortality, so don’t stress about it. You’ll exhibit more humane characteristics, but the most fundamental parts of your necromancy will still be there. Other than Hongjoong, no one will be able to take blood from you, as normal. You’ll still live forever, assuming Hongjoong doesn’t kill you for some reason. You’ll still have full access to your abilities. Just make sure that you don’t give Hongjoong any reasons to kill you.”</p><p>Seonghwa sighed in relief. So he wasn’t losing his power. That was great. He’d still be just as much of a necromancer as he was before. As for the fact that Hongjoong could probably kill him… he’d figure that out sooner or later, but he was pretty sure that the psychokinetic wouldn’t even consider it. Hongjoong was too nice for that.</p><p>“Should I tell him about this?” Seonghwa asked tentatively. Soyeon merely shrugged. “That’s your choice. You know him better than I do. How do you think he will take it?”</p><p>The young necromancer hesitated, thinking back over the past week he’d spent with Hongjoong. He was really kind and understanding, so Seonghwa didn’t think that Hongjoong would get creeped out by the whole concept of it. Then again, it was kind of weird to imagine explaining it. What would even say? <em> Hey, so I know it’s only been a week but apparently I’m in love with you and you are the only living being that can kill me? </em>Hongjoong surely didn’t think of Seonghwa in that way. It would be unbearably awkward for Seonghwa to disclose this information so soon.</p><p>“I think I’ll wait a little before telling him,” Seonghwa decided, standing up from the sofa couch. “Thank you for your advice, Soyeon. I’ll be on my way now.”</p><p>The Grand Mage smiled at him pitifully. “Good luck, Park Seonghwa. I sincerely hope you succeed in your mission.”</p><p>Seonghwa bowed to her, then, in a flurry of shadows, he disappeared.</p><p>-----</p><p>Wooyoung really had a habit of barging into Yeosang’s cell at the worst times.</p><p>Last week, for example, Wooyoung had stomped into Yeosang’s room right after Yeosang had gotten out of the shower. Yeosang was grateful that he hadn’t come any sooner.</p><p>Now, Yeosang had just finished working out on the cold, hard floor of his cell, and he had stripped off his sweaty shirt to change into another one. Then, of course, Wooyoung just <em> had </em>to open the door in the five-second interval between Yeosang taking off his old shirt and putting on a new one.</p><p>Yeosang watched as Wooyoung stared at him in surprise, his eyes widening and cheeks reddening from embarrassment. For a good five seconds, Wooyoung just stood there, his mouth opening and closing like a fish despite no sound coming out.</p><p>Yeosang knew he had that effect on people. It was common knowledge that he was handsome - many of the agents in SEVEN SEASONS reminded of him of that every day. On campus, he was always followed by a flock of squealing girls who kept whispering and giggling but never actually had the courage to talk to him (it was awfully annoying). However, he just couldn’t help but notice that Wooyoung had done a fair share of ogling since he had gotten here - he hadn’t missed the way that Wooyoung had scanned him from head-to-toe when he had walked out of the shower last week. </p><p>For some reason, it wasn’t that annoying.</p><p>“Do you need something?” Yeosang asked politely, pulling on a loose gray t-shirt. Wooyoung seemed to snap out of his trance, his expression turning more frantic and serious.</p><p>“Look, I know you yelled at me and you probably hate my guts, but I really need your help,” Wooyoung begged, hints of tears glistening in his eyes. Yeosang was completely taken aback by his new behaviour - he had never seen the pyrokinetic in such a vulnerable state before. “We were on an assassination mission and your friend Jongho found us. He shot San… Yunho isn’t in the base right now, Mingi just drove out to go find him, but he won’t be able to get here for at least another half hour. The bullet managed to pierce straight through San’s ribcage and hit his lung - we came back as fast as we could but he’s lost too much blood. I need you to freeze him until Yunho gets here. Otherwise, Yunho won’t make it in time.”</p><p>Yeosang didn’t know why he felt such a demanding urge to save San, but it was there nevertheless. Suddenly, it didn’t seem to matter that San was his captor. It didn’t matter that he had yelled at Wooyoung and called him weak. It didn’t matter that Jongho, the person who he was allied with, had been the one to shoot San. All that mattered was that San was dying.</p><p>“Lead me to him,” Yeosang demanded immediately. “I’ll put him in cryo freeze until Yunho gets here. That should stop the bleeding and keep him alive.”</p><p>Wooyoung’s jaw dropped open. “Wait, for real? You’ll help him?”</p><p>Yeosang frowned. “Yes.”</p><p>“I -” The pyrokinetic was at a loss for words, but he seemed to settle on the most logical course of action in that moment. “Right. Follow me.”</p><p>Wooyoung practically sprinted down the corridors, Yeosang following him close behind. He led them into a small room with several glass cupboards lined up against white walls, stacked with hundreds of ointments and tools. There was a sink in the far corner and a counter beside it, on top of which a couple of bandages and scissors had been strewn across. In the center of the room, San lay face-down on top of a white bed, his blood staining the pristine sheets a dark crimson colour.</p><p>“You’ll need to turn off the magical restriction generator,” Yeosang pointed out.</p><p>“It’s already off,” Wooyoung answered frantically. “Will you be able to save him?”</p><p>“I think so.” The cryokinetic rushed over to stand beside San, placing a hand on the other boy’s wound. “San, I need you to relax. You’re going to feel a bit like suffocating, but it’ll only be for a few moments.”</p><p>The aerokinetic mumbled a soft ‘okay’ in response, before his face contorted in pain. Moving quickly, Yeosang gently pressed on San’s wound, watching as frost formed on top of it, rapidly spreading all over San’s body until he was covered in ice. San’s face was the last to be iced, and Yeosang watched as the aerokinetic closed his eyes, breathing out slowly before frost engulfed him.</p><p>Yeosang exhaled in relief, releasing his hand from San’s back and moving away from him to stand aside. He turned to Wooyoung, smiling slightly. “All done.”</p><p>Wooyoung seemed to collapse in relief, burying his head in his hands. Yeosang watched as the other boy’s rapid breathing slowed and he seemed to calm down, his tense shoulders relaxing and arms sagging at his sides.</p><p>At that moment, Wooyoung seemed so… <em> small </em>. Curling in on himself, covering his face with his hands, breathing slowly but labouredly, he looked so breakable, like one punch would send him crumbling down.</p><p>Yeosang was never good at handling emotions, especially those of others. It was easy to deal with other people’s anger - you just had to maintain an indifferent, reasonable disposition and it would drive them crazy. Dealing with others’ fear was much more difficult - Yeosang was terrified that he’d say something wrong or hit a soft spot and everything would come crashing down. It was like trying to pull out a side block in Jenga when the other had already been taken out - moving as slowly as possible, trusting that the middle block would be able to balance all that weight above it on its own. One wrong move, such as a particularly strong friction force between the two blocks, could send the whole tower toppling. Wooyoung was just as delicate. Yeosang didn’t know how to comfort him, especially since the last time they’d spoken, he’d practically yelled in Wooyoung’s face for a good five minutes.</p><p>“Thank you.” Out of the blue, Wooyoung spoke up in a small voice. Yeosang almost jumped in surprise, his gaze jerking upwards to focus on the pyrokinetic. Wooyoung was staring straight at him, his expression devoid of any hatred or fury or bitterness. His eyes still shone with tears but the corner of his mouth was curved upwards, the hint of a smile beginning to reveal itself.</p><p>Yeosang felt his throat go dry. Now he <em> really </em>didn’t know how to deal with this. One thing worse than dealing with fear was dealing with compassion.</p><p>“I -” Yeosang coughed, blushing as he tried to collect his thoughts. “Um, no problem.”</p><p>The silence that followed was agonising. Wooyoung suddenly became extremely interested in the dust patterns on the floor, as it seemed. Yeosang fiercely avoided the pyrokinetic’s gaze, focusing on staring at San’s frozen body instead. He wished that things weren’t so awfully awkward between them, but that would be a given since they both hated each other with a passion.</p><p><em> Do we? </em> A voice in the back of Yeosang’s head whispered quietly. <em> Do you really hate Wooyoung? Do you really think he hates you? </em></p><p><em> If he hated you you’d already be dead. </em> San had told him that, all the way back when the two of them had dueled. <em> Wooyoung doesn’t hate you. </em> Yunho had told him that after Wooyoung had almost beaten Yeosang up for injuring San. Yet Wooyoung had spent the past week giving Yeosang every reason to believe that he hated him.</p><p>“You’re right, you know.” Wooyoung’s voice cut through the silence like a sharp knife. Yeosang looked up questioningly. “Right about what?”</p><p>The pyrokinetic rolled his eyes, gesturing vaguely at San. “You were right when you said I was afraid. I’m afraid of losing him, Mingi, Yunho… they mean everything to me. I’m <em> terrified </em>, and I only realised just how frightened I was today, when I saw San bleeding out with your friend Jongho pointing a gun at him. I panicked.”</p><p>Yeosang’s eyebrows rose sharply, about to speak up, but Wooyoung seemed to read his mind. “Don’t worry, I didn’t hurt Jongho. I didn’t have time - I grabbed San and ran away. I couldn’t afford to fight him. We left our captive there.”</p><p><em> So Jongho is safe </em>, Yeosang thought, relieved. He’d been worried that Wooyoung might have done something to hurt him, since he had shot San.</p><p>“San told me something, right after you yelled at me last week,” Wooyoung said slowly, walking over to stand beside Yeosang. “He said that my fear wasn’t a weakness. All it proves, according to him, is that there are people who have my back and who I can trust with my life. He said that that was a strength. I think he’s right.” The pyrokinetic looked over at San with a fond expression on his face. “He made me realise that it’s alright to be afraid. It’s alright to feel guilty. That just shows that I have morals and values, which I do. In the end, the fact that I’m <em> human </em>, the fact that I’m just like everyone else, that is my greatest strength.”</p><p>Yeosang frowned at him, confused. “Why is that?”</p><p>Wooyoung smirked, his confidence and arrogance resurfacing quickly. “Because it’s much harder to kill someone who’s <em> just like you </em>.”</p><p>Yeosang sighed, shaking his head in exasperation. There it was again. Every time he thought that Wooyoung was becoming better, every time he thought that <em> maybe </em> Wooyoung might be warming up to him, the pyrokinetic would say or do something that threw his hopes out the window. No matter how <em> nice </em>Wooyoung became, one thing was certain. He was, first and foremost, a villain. He would never stop being that.</p><p>“Is that what you want, then?” Yeosang asked coldly. “You want <em> compassion </em>? You’re hoping that I’ll just sit back and watch while you kill thousands of my fellow agents and friends?”</p><p>The pyrokinetic threw his head back, laughing cruelly. “Please, you think so lowly of me. Why would I waste your talents like that?”</p><p>Yeosang narrowed his eyes, folding his arms over his chest and backing away as Wooyoung stepped towards him. Wooyoung’s sneer was sickeningly unsettling, and his touch was as scorching as fire when he tilted Yeosang’s chin upwards rather harshly.</p><p>“I want you,” Wooyoung purred, and an unspeakable thought crossed Yeosang’s mind, making him panic internally. Surely Wooyoung wasn’t suggesting… </p><p>“To join us.”</p><p>Yeosang blanched, his jaw dropping open. “What?”</p><p>Wooyoung rolled his eyes, leaning back with a bored expression on his face. “Do I really need to spell it out for you? You join ATZ’99. You help us take down SEVEN SEASONS. If you want, I’ll throw in guaranteed protection for your telepath friend and the kid as well.”</p><p>“What the fuck -” Yeosang was aghast. “Are you out of your mind? You said you wanted to destroy SEVEN SEASONS after they killed your parents. Now you want to team up with the agency’s poster-boy-superhero?”</p><p>The pyrokinetic shrugged, moving over to sit on top of one of the counters on the side of the room. “Hey, my goal is to end the agency that killed my parents. Clearly, you and your psychokinetic friend didn’t have anything to do with it. If you’re willing to not cause trouble for me and help my cause, I’ll protect you. If you’re going to be like every other agent in that agency and choose to fight me purely because your commander ordered you to, then I’ll have no choice but to kill you. I’m not a serial killer, I’ll only kill when I need to.”</p><p>Yeosang glared at him. “So killing your <em> brother </em>is necessary?”</p><p>Wooyoung fixed him with an equally furious look, his relaxed stance turning more cold. “He tried to <em> kill </em> me. He kicked me out of a gang that I had complete control over. He said that we would lead <em> Aurora </em>together to success, then backstabbed me in a pathetic grasp for power. Out of everyone that I’ve got on my kill list, he’s the one I want dead the most.”</p><p>“Yeah, I’m good.” Yeosang spat back. “I’ll join you and your murderous gang when hell freezes over.”</p><p>“I’m pretty sure you could freeze hell without breaking a sweat.” Wooyoung quipped, examining his nails.</p><p>“Fuck you.”</p><p>“Oh, very eloquent. I’m absolutely petrified.”</p><p>“Wooyoung?” As if some god had answered Yeosang’s prayers, Mingi chose that moment to rush into the infirmary with Yunho right behind him. “Is San alright?” The geokinetic’s eyes fell onto San’s frozen body and he let out a shocked screech. “What the hell happened?”</p><p>Wooyoung slid off the counter, walking over to stand by the other side of the white bed. “Yeosang put him in cryofreeze, it stopped the blood flow so that you guys would have time to get here.”</p><p>“Seriously?” Mingi turned to Yeosang, a surprised but grateful expression on his face. “Wow… thank you, really. I didn’t expect that you’d help us.”</p><p>Yeosang sighed, waving the thank-you away good-naturedly. “It’s fine. San’s been very nice to me throughout the time in which I’ve been here, and I never got to apologise for blasting him with ice when we were duelling. I kind of owed it to him anyway.” He scowled at Wooyoung pointedly. “If it were you that were dying, on the other hand, I would let you rot away.”</p><p>Wooyoung raised an eyebrow. “Would you really have the guts to let me die?”</p><p>Yeosang’s voice caught in his throat and he settled for an angry glare instead.</p><p>Mingi seemed to notice this tension, because he cleared his throat loudly, interrupting the two of them. “Alright, whatever is going down between you two, it’s not important right now.” He gestured towards San. “Yunho, can you heal him in this state or do you need him unfrozen?”</p><p>Yunho, who had been quiet until then, walked over to place his hand on the wound in San’s back. “I can heal him like this. Just give me a minute.”</p><p>Yeosang, Mingi and Wooyoung simultaneously stepped away from the cot, giving Yunho space to work his magic. Yeosang watched as the healer closed his eyes, breathing in deeply before exhaling sharply, pushing down on San’s wound. Golden sparkles swirled around Yunho’s hands and surrounded San’s body, engulfing him in bright light. The aerokinetic’s body seemed to literally <em> glow </em>from Yunho’s magic as it hovered a few inches above the cot, slowly spinning around as Yunho brushed his fingers across the wound, his magic creating new skin and patching it up. </p><p>After a few moments, Yunho lowered San’s body back onto the cot, the golden light dissipating back into Yunho’s palms. The healer then turned to Yeosang. “You can thaw him now.”</p><p>Yeosang nodded, quickly flicking his wrist as his palm illuminated with icy blue light once again. The frost around San’s body was quickly sucked into his hand, leaving the aerokinetic completely unharmed.</p><p>As soon as the last speck of ice flew into Yeosang’s palm, San sat up straight, gasping and coughing for air. Yunho gently patted San on the back until the aerokinetic’s breathing calmed down. There was still blood on San’s skin where it had splattered because of his wound, but other than that, he was fine.</p><p>“Sannie!” Mingi did not hesitate to engulf the aerokinetic in a gigantic hug, squeezing him tightly as he cried out in relief. “Thank god you’re okay.”</p><p>San gave the other a weak smile before croaking out: “Mingi, I can’t breathe.”</p><p>“Oh.” Mingi released him quickly, blushing as he did so. “Sorry, I got excited.”</p><p>San laughed, patting Mingi on the shoulder affectionately before turning to Wooyoung. “What happened with -”</p><p>“You <em> fucking </em>idiot!” Wooyoung interrupted the aerokinetic with a firm slap on his shoulder, pummeling San with angry but harmless punches. “Don’t ever scare me like that again or I swear, I will rip out the throat of your dog plushie while you sleep!”</p><p>San gasped in betrayal. “You would never hurt Shiber!”</p><p>“If you get shot like that again, I will!”</p><p>Yeosang watched in amusement as Wooyoung, San and Mingi went back and forth with their banter, going from relieved, grateful cries of happiness to angry scoldings to a heated argument about whether or not they should lock Shiber away for a week as San’s punishment. He even found himself laughing along at their antics, a joyous smile growing on his face despite his and Wooyoung’s recent argument.</p><p>Yunho approached him with an intrigued look on his face. “You seem particularly happy.”</p><p>Yeosang shrugged, smiling at him. “It’s just nice to see how close you guys are. I’m only really close with Hongjoong, I don’t have a lot of other friends.”</p><p>The healer frowned. “I’m sorry about that. You’re a very reasonable person, I don’t see why you would have a difficult time making friends.”</p><p>“It’s not that other people don’t like me,” Yeosang explained quickly. “I just have a hard time letting other people in. You know, trust issues and all that.”</p><p>Yunho sighed. “If anything,” He raised an eyebrow at Wooyoung. “You certainly haven’t failed to get on Wooyoung’s good side.”</p><p>Yeosang gave him a questioning look, and the healer chuckled. “I know. He doesn’t act like it, but he likes you. You’re not like the other superheroes we’ve met. I suppose he’s already asked you to join our gang, hasn’t he?”</p><p>The cryokinetic was taken aback. “I -” He stuttered, shocked. “Yes, he has. Were you aware of this?”</p><p>Yunho grimaced. “We’re seriously understaffed here. Yes, the four of us are powerful, but we still have to fight Hongjoong in order to take down SEVEN SEASONS. And I’m willing to bet that Seonghwa is going to get involved. He’s too kind to just sit back and watch while Wooyoung murders thousands of agents. Additionally, it’s not like those agents are sitting ducks either. They’re well trained, highly capable and extremely deadly. Even if we gather the support we have from this operation, <em> Journey </em>, and other gangs that we know, we would still be outnumbered. You’re very powerful, since you can control both ice and water. You know the workings of SEVEN SEASONS well. You’d be an irreplaceable asset to the team.”</p><p>Yeosang’s voice caught in his throat. So the entire team was <em> seriously </em>considering recruiting him. The idea of it made him sick.</p><p>“Look, I know you’re probably horrified at the idea of this,” Yunho said gently. “But we’re completely serious about this. We’re not against you. We’re against the agency that has displaced millions of people around the world. If you choose to help us, if you choose to fight against that agency then you are under our protection. We’re not bluffing when we say that we’ll protect Hongjoong and Jongho as well. Their deaths are only meant to be collateral damage, if they get in our way. If you help us, we promise we’ll do everything in our power to keep them alive.”</p><p>Yeosang shook his head, covering his face with his hands. “I don’t know,” He admitted weakly. “I don’t know if I should. I don’t like SEVEN SEASONS. I hate the agency for the same reasons that you do. But there are <em> so many agents </em>there that have been so kind to me. They’re like family to me. I can’t sign away all their lives just to feed my vengeance.”</p><p>The healer nodded slowly, a look of understanding crossing his features. “I see.” He did not look upset, just disappointed. “Well, if you ever change your mind, our offer still stands. You’ve done us a great debt by saving San. We’ll be here if you need us.”</p><p>The corners of Yeosang’s lips curled upwards into a smile. “Thank you.”</p><p>“Yeosang.” San spoke up after having disentangled himself from Wooyoung and Mingi. He walked over to Yeosang, stopping in front of him. For a few seconds, he just stood there, and Yeosang stared at him, puzzled. Then, suddenly, San reached over and hugged Yeosang.</p><p>Yeosang froze. The warmth of San’s embrace left him absolutely shell-shocked. He didn’t know what to do other than stand there like a totem pole, rigid and unmoving.</p><p>“Thank you for saving me,” San said quietly. “I don’t know how to repay you.”</p><p>Yeosang blinked. “Uh… it’s fine. I owed it to you anyway.” He tried to pull away, but the aerokinetic’s grip was like iron.</p><p>“I have an idea.” Mingi spoke up from where he was standing beside the cot. “We could let you out of your cell. Of course, we’d keep you locked in the compound and we’d still turn on the power-restriction generator, but you’d at least have more to do than just stare at the wall all day. Besides, none of us need to use our abilities daily when we’re here, so keeping the generator on wouldn’t hurt. What do you guys think?”</p><p>“It’s really fine -” Yeosang began, but Yunho quickly cut him off.</p><p>“I think it’s a great idea,” The healer said firmly, patting Yeosang on the back. “We owe you big time now. It would be plain horrible of us to force you to stay in that cell any longer.”</p><p>“Mingi’s right,” San added, releasing Yeosang from his embrace. “You’ve treated us so kindly since the day you got here. It’s about time we paid that back.”</p><p>The three of them then turned to Wooyoung, looking expectantly at their leader. Wooyoung scrunched up his nose in distaste, glowering at Yeosang, but he reluctantly nodded. “Fine.”</p><p>“YAY!” Mingi cheered loudly as he, San and Yunho all went to hug Yeosang. The cryokinetic stumbled back from the weight, surprised, but he didn’t feel uneasy. Even when he was surrounded by people who were planning to overthrow the national intelligence agency, he didn’t feel uneasy. Even when he looked up and met Wooyoung’s smoldering glare, he didn’t feel uneasy.</p><p>He just felt incredibly, inexplicably warm.</p><p>-----</p><p>Jongho left SEVEN SEASONS headquarters at seven in the evening as usual, driving out to a safe house in the outskirts of town. He’d set up a safe house in Washington as well as New York City to ensure that Hongjoong and Seonghwa could travel to and from the cities safely. After all, Wooyoung’s headquarters were in New York City, but SEVEN SEASONS headquarters were in Washington. Both were crucial locations in this mission.</p><p>Jongho needed to look through the information he’d collected on Park Seonghwa, but he didn’t trust that SEVEN SEASONS hadn’t bugged his house somehow. The agency was notorious for their espionage and many agents had been kicked out or killed after the agency had found out about their disloyalty through bugging and secret cameras. Jongho had done a complete sweep of the area around the safe house as well as inside it, and he had removed the block from SEVEN SEASONS’ security tapes. It was too risky to do the same thing with his own home - the agency would notice it immediately.</p><p>Jongho parked his car in the garage at the back of the building, keeping the retro-reflective panels around the vehicle on in order to make it invisible. He looked around, ensuring that nobody was watching him before he stepped out and headed into the apartment complex. As soon as he got to the safe house, he threw his bag down on the floor, pulling the USB out of his pocket and plugging it into his computer.  </p><p>“Jongho?” Jongho looked up to see Hyunsuk standing in the hallway, raising an eyebrow. The younger boy had told Hyunsuk to meet him at the safe house, because Jongho figured that having a more experienced agent with him would probably be of use. Besides, he knew that he could trust Hyunsuk.</p><p>The elder boy walked over to where Jongho was seated on a couch, plopping down beside him. “Why did you bring me all the way out here? This complex is miles away from the city.”</p><p>“Sorry,” Jongho apologised sheepishly. “I don’t have anyone else to turn to. You’re the only agent I know I can trust. And I couldn’t risk doing this at headquarters or at my house - it’s likely that SEVEN SEASONS bugged those places.”</p><p>Hyunsuk raised an eyebrow, his expression turning more firm. “What’s this all about? Did Eden say something to you?”</p><p>The younger laughed satirically. “No, actually, he did the exact opposite,” Jongho muttered darkly. “He’s been keeping secrets from us about Seonghwa, that necromancer ex-agent.”</p><p>Folding his arms over his chest, Hyunsuk frowned at him. “What does Seonghwa have to do with any of this? I thought he was banned from America a few years ago.”</p><p>Jongho sighed, turning to face the older boy solemnly. “You’ve got to <em> promise </em>me that you will keep this a secret. You can’t even tell Treasure.”</p><p>Hyunsuk hesitated, but he nodded eventually. Then Jongho told him the whole story - how Hongjoong wasn’t actually being held captive by Wooyoung. How the fight with Wooyoung at the bar had really gone down. How Seonghwa had stepped in and stopped Wooyoung from torturing Jongho. How Hongjoong had gone to Nigeria to recruit Seonghwa, and how the two of them were now hiding in a safe house in New York City. How Jongho had made up the whole lie to protect them from SEVEN SEASONS, how the three of them were working secretly to locate Wooyoung. How Jongho had overheard Eden and Maddox’s conversation, how he had found out that Seonghwa had tried to destroy the agency before. How Jongho had gone to The Matrix and collected information, only to run into Wooyoung and shoot down his aerokinetic friend. How Wooyoung had created a firewall between Jongho and San and had flown away on the aircraft with San, leaving their captive, Junyoung, untouched. How Jongho had come here to look into the information about Seonghwa stored on his USB.</p><p>“Holy shit,” Hyunsuk mumbled after Jongho had finished his explanation. “That’s a lot to take in at once.”</p><p>“You can’t tell <em> anyone </em>about it,” Jongho begged him. “If Eden finds out, he’s going to kill Hongjoong, literally, not figuratively.”</p><p>“I’ll keep this quiet, I swear,” Hyunsuk said firmly. “But Jongho, you need to be careful. If Eden finds out what you’ve been doing, who knows what he might do to you.”</p><p>“I know.” Jongho grimaced. “Let’s not worry about that now, though. Focus on one task at a time.” He clicked on the USB folder on the screen and several videos, files and documents showed up, all from different dates from the past four years. </p><p>“Whoa.” Hyunsuk sounded impressed. “You definitely collected a lot of dirt on him.”</p><p>“It’s the Matrix, every byte of data flows through there,” Jongho replied simply. He noticed a video with the date <em> October 24th, 2016 </em> as its title and blanched, looking over at Hyunsuk. “Isn’t that the day the <em> emmonos </em>came into Earth and killed Block B?”</p><p>Hyunsuk nodded, a concerned expression growing on his face. “What’s that doing in Seonghwa’s information file?”</p><p>The younger boy pursed his lips, his heart thundering in his chest. “One way to find out.”</p><p>Jongho clicked on the video to open it, and watched as the first few seconds began rolling.</p><p>On the screen, three figures were standing in Eden's office in the agency’s headquarters. The tallest man was holding another shorter boy in a fierce armlock, holding a gun to his head. The boy being held at gunpoint looked quite young, perhaps only twelve years old. He was unconscious, his eyes closed and his body limp. Across from the two, a man with black hair and gray eyes stood glaring at them, black sparkles surrounding his entire body.</p><p>“That must be Seonghwa,” Hyunsuk murmured, pointing at the black-sparkles man. “Who are the other two guys? I can’t tell from the dark lighting.”</p><p><em> “You truly are a piece of work.” </em> The tallest man snarled at Seonghwa, glowering at him. <em> “Backstabbing us after sending all your agents here. Are you pleased with yourself?” </em></p><p>Seonghwa’s expression did not change - it remained as sullen and dark as ever before. <em> “You betrayed me first, did you not, Commander Eden?” </em></p><p>Jongho gasped, his jaw dropping open. The tall man was <em> Eden? </em> Their <em> commander? </em>Then what was he doing holding a kid at gunpoint?</p><p>“What the fuck?” Hyunsuk scowled. “What is Eden doing?”</p><p><em> “Please, did you seriously expect me to believe that your fellow gang members were trying to be ‘Good’?” </em> Eden spat back. <em> “You’ve been planning this from the start. Sending your agents here, then trying to overthrow us. You just never expected me to catch onto your trail.” </em></p><p>Seonghwa scoffed. <em> “If I wanted to overthrow you, I wouldn’t have sent my agents to work with you. I would’ve just taken you down on my own, like I did today.”  </em></p><p><em> “Today?” </em> The commander roared with laughter. <em> “You think today was a success? Look at you now, trembling with fear while I hold this stranger at gunpoint. You don’t even know him, but you’re still so desperate to protect him?” </em></p><p><em> “Have you no shame?” </em> Seonghwa thundered, and the entire room turned darker as shadows filled the surroundings. <em> “He is a child! He doesn’t look older than twelve. Does it not guilt you to threaten me with a child’s life?” </em></p><p><em> “It shouldn’t matter to you. You don’t even know his name,” </em> Eden rolled his eyes menacingly. <em> “Yet here you are, trying to bargain for this stranger’s life. That will be your downfall, Park Seonghwa. That you try to be a hero. You try to protect the innocent. Do you think these acts of heroism will wipe out the blood in your ledger?”  </em></p><p><em> “Yes.” </em> Seonghwa’s tone was even and calm. <em> “One day, with enough innocents saved, it will.” </em></p><p>The commander slammed the muzzle of his gun against his captive’s head, pressing it into his skull. <em> “Fine then,” </em> Eden hissed. <em> “Have it your way. You back down right now. Surrender. Stay out of America for good, don’t ever come back to this country unless you want to be arrested. I’ll let you have your freedom to roam anywhere around the world except this nation. Agree to those terms, or the child dies. And if you try to use any of your magic on me, I assure you that this boy will be dead before you even get to flick your wrist.” </em></p><p>Jongho’s eyes widened as he watched Seonghwa deliberate. The shadows in the room seemed to get more and more intense, turning sharper and deadlier as they pointed towards Eden. The commander pressed the muzzle of the gun harder against the boy’s skull, cocking it while glaring at Seonghwa.</p><p>Suddenly, the shadows disappeared and light returned to the room. Seonghwa’s expression was still cold and angry, but he looked more resigned. </p><p><em> “Very well.” </em> The necromancer smiled cruelly. <em> “I will leave your precious America alone. I’ve already completed my mission, anyway.” </em></p><p>Eden released the young boy, letting his unconscious body fall to the floor. <em> “Do you call this a success? This agency still stands, no matter the destruction you caused to it.” </em></p><p><em> “Maybe it stands now,” </em> Seonghwa warned. <em> “But this destruction is not the only effect of what I’ve done. You may not have lost your agency but I assure you that you have lost the public. Your fierce supporters will turn into wolves that will tear you and your agency apart. It’s only a matter of time before your own people become your downfall.” </em></p><p><em> “Get out of here and take your bullshit with you,” </em>Eden growled back.</p><p>The necromancer smirked, then looked down at the boy’s body curiously. <em> “What is his name?” </em></p><p>
  <em> “What?” </em>
</p><p>
  <em> “This boy. What’s his name?” </em>
</p><p>What Eden said next turned Jongho’s blood to ice.</p><p>
  <em> “His name is Choi Jongho.” </em>
</p><p>The video ended, leaving just a plain black screen on Jongho’s computer. The young agent could feel the blood rushing to his head, his heart thundering in his chest. His limbs felt cold and heavy, and a horrible feeling settled in his stomach.</p><p>“Oh my god.” Hyunsuk’s voice cut into the silence. “Eden…”</p><p>“Eden threatened to kill me.” Jongho’s tone was numb and empty. “He held me at gunpoint so that Seonghwa would leave the country. I was <em> twelve years old </em>.”</p><p>“Seonghwa attempted to destroy SEVEN SEASONS,” Hyunsuk breathed. “We don’t know how he did it, but it looks like he almost succeeded. He wanted to destroy an <em> agency </em>, but he surrendered to protect a stranger? Where is the logic there?”</p><p>“He surrendered to protect a <em> child </em>.” Jongho murmured. “He didn’t know who I was, but he couldn’t let Eden kill a twelve-year-old. He gave up on his mission to protect me.” He turned to Hyunsuk, looking him straight in the eye. “Hyunsuk, at the bar, Seonghwa stepped in only when Wooyoung was torturing me. Do you think -”</p><p>“He recognised you.” Hyunsuk gasped softly. “He remembered you from four years ago. He would have let Wooyoung destroy Hongjoong and Yeosang, because they were working for SEVEN SEASONS. But he intervened to protect you.”</p><p>Jongho’s gaze flicked back to his computer, and he began shuffling through the other videos. “We have to find out more -”</p><p>All of a sudden, a loud bang sounded throughout the room. Hyunsuk immediately dove to cover Jongho, shoving the younger boy to the ground and shielding him with his body. A continuous sound of gunshots rang out in the air, and Jongho reached for the gun at his belt, assembling it quickly.</p><p>“Who are the hostiles?” Jongho yelled as he rolled over to take cover behind a table. Hyunsuk, who was now ducking behind a cabinet, scowled as he loaded his own gun. “They’re coming from the doorway. They’re in SWAT gear, black suits, heavily armed.”</p><p>Jongho’s stomach dropped. “They’re SEVEN SEASONS agents.”</p><p>“Grenade!” Hyunsuk screamed out the warning just in time for Jongho and him to jump out of the way, scrambling towards the hallway and avoiding getting injured by debris. The older boy fired several times at the doorway, and the sound of three bodies hitting the floor resonated across the room.</p><p>“There’s too many of them,” Hyunsuk snarled. “We’re outnumbered.”</p><p>“How did they find us?” Jongho demanded. “I don’t have anything on me that’s from SEVEN SEASONS. We made these shotguns in the lab on our own, so they’re certainly not bugged.”</p><p>Hyunsuk’s eyes fell on Jongho’s computer, which was now sprawled out on the floor. The black USB winked back at them.</p><p>Jongho followed his gaze and gulped. “Crap.”</p><p>“Do you have an emergency bag?” Hyunsuk asked sharply. Jongho nodded. “It’s in that room over there.” He pointed to a white door at the end of the hallway.</p><p>The elder boy fired several times more towards the doorway, blocking the agents from advancing towards them. “Get it. We’re on the first floor, it’s only a twenty-foot jump from here to the ground. Jump out the window, I’ll follow you. Start the car, I’ll meet you in the garage.”</p><p>“Roger.” Jongho gave Hyunsuk another firm nod, then he sprinted down the hallway, the sound of bullets firing fading away behind him. He rushed into the room, picking up his emergency bag from on top of the bed in the far corner. Then he ran to the window, kicking it open so that the entire pane fell off its hinges, leaving a broad opening for both Jongho and Hyunsuk to jump out of.</p><p>Jongho looked down at the ground. Twenty feet was a hell of a long way to jump, considering that he had no protective gear on. But Jongho had no choice.</p><p>The young agent leapt out of the window, clenching his limbs and falling pencil-straight down to the ground. As soon as he hit the concrete floor, he loosened the muscles around his knees, rolling forward to alleviate the impact. He was pretty sure he heard something twist in his ankle, but he ignored the sharp pain and sprinted towards the garage. </p><p>Thankfully, there were no SEVEN SEASONS agents in the garage. He slid into the driver’s seat of the car, turning the engine on as quickly as possible. As he was doing so, he noticed Hyunsuk jumping out the window and landing, rolling in perfect formation then standing up unharmed. Jongho quickly revved the engine and drove the car towards Hyunsuk, stopping only for a few seconds to let the older boy slip into the shotgun seat before driving off.</p><p>“Are we clear?” Jongho asked as the car rolled out of the garage and onto the main road. Hyunsuk looked backwards, checking to see if there were any SEVEN SEASONS cars following them. </p><p>“We’re good. Besides, I don’t think they’d be able to keep up with your reckless driving anyway.”</p><p>The younger boy gave him the stink-eye through the front view mirror. “Now is not the time to be making jokes about my driving abilities. Where to?”</p><p>“Get us out of the city,” Hyunsuk ordered. “Take the I-95 straight to New York City. Bring us to Seonghwa and Hongjoong.”</p><p>Jongho blanched. “That’s almost a four-hour drive.”</p><p>Hyunsuk smirked. “Well, with you at the wheel, it’ll only take two hours.”</p><p>The younger boy glared at him, punching him in the shoulder. “You’re mean.”</p><p>“Eyes on the fucking road, Choi.”</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>As you can see, I've also put a total chapter count instead of a question mark. That's just a rough prediction and it may change a bit as the story goes on but the final chapter count will be around 16 chapters.</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0009"><h2>9. not a chapter - note from author :)</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>this is not a chapter sorry :(</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>hey guys! i know it's been a month since I updated and I'm so sorry for not being active. All of my end-of-year exams and graded assignments started coming up and I just got buried in studying. I've still got three more weeks of exams so I probably won't get back to writing until June. but you can be assured that this story is going to be finished at some point! i would never leave works unfinished, even if it takes a long time. thank you to everyone who's been patiently waiting for the next update! </p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>kudos and comments are always appreciated! thank you for reading!</p></blockquote></div></div>
</body>
</html>